What is Family?
by Oblivian03
Summary: Families are what families are. Whole or broken, old or new, large or small, a family will always remain a family. Series of related one shots. Set post-series.
1. Timeline of stories

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh Arc V or any of the franchise, characters or plots.**

 **NOTE: Stories for this particular series start chapter 2 onwards. This is just a brief explanation and a time line of what story fits where (including related but separate stories).**

 _This is based post-series. The world/AU (whatever you want to call it) is the same as in my other story 'Red Scarves and Wooden Crosses'. You don't need to read it to understand this one (or vice versa). That said there will be a few ties in with some of the jokes and motifs carrying over here._

 _This series will specifically cover interactions around the counterparts, Shun and Sora and their families (new or otherwise) post-series. It will be a series of linked one shots. Other spin off ideas unrelated to this specific theme will be written as separate stories (if I have other spin off ideas)._

 _Who lives with who is as follows:_

 _Yoko and Yusho - Yus: Yugo and Yuya (permanetly), Yuri (as a kind of trial thing, although pretty much permanently), Yuto (temporarily; moves between the two houses) & Sora (permanently)_

 _Shuzo - the bracelet girls: Yuzu and Rin (permanently), Serena (deciding if temporary or not), Ruri (temporarily) & Shun (temporarily)_

 _Parental figure wise, they all view them as parents or guardians with the main exceptions being Shun who views them as more of an...equal I suppose, someone who is temporarily taking care of him and his two 'chicks'. Yuto and Ruri, while viewing the others as temporary guardians, mainly consider Shun their main guardian._

 ** _Note: the stories on here will not be updated in chronological order (rather in the order that I think of them or they are suggested). Thus the timeline is to make it easier for you (and me) given that I will be referring to events and so on in different chapters depending on when they occur in said timeline._**

* * *

 **Timeline**

'A Froggy Incident' (separate one shot)

 ** _*Yusho Sakaki disappears*_**

 ** _*Invasion of the Xyz Dimension by the Fusion Dimension_** _*_

 ** _PRE-ANIME_**

 ** _*Events of the anime and battle against Zarc*_**

 ** _POST-ANIME_**

'Something to smile for'

'Something to change for'

'Something to trust in'

'Something to rebuild'

'Something to run to'

'Something to accept'

'Something to surrender to'

'Something to coddle'

'Something to be grateful for'

'Red Scarves and Wooden Valleys' (separate one shot)

'Something to make bloom'

'Something to claim'

* * *

 **If you have any suggestions for any stories I am open to them (either review or PM me). Some guidelines though - I will not accept OCs (unless they are minor, such as one of them helping a kid), any romance relationships must be canon (e.g. Yugo/Rin, Ruri/Yuto) and I will typically not repeat what I have already written. Sending in a request does not necessarily guarantee it will be written. But for the most part they probably will be. ;) So yeah. If you have any ideas, I'm open to them.**


	2. Something to be grateful for

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh Arc V or any of its plot, characters or related franchise.**

 **Please enjoy the first one shot in this series. It focuses on all of the counterparts, Shun, Sora and the three adults (Yoko, Yusho and Shuzo).**

* * *

It seemed like the very molecules that made Yuya up were quivering with the same excitement he got when the spotlight struck him at the climax of a duel, a _normal_ duel, an entertain one, not the ones about segregation and survival and power. Never those ones. Never again.

But all thoughts of Academia and Zarc aside – and he would forcibly push them aside if he had to – Yuya was excited. And nervous. Very nervous.

What if his parents did not like it? What if his _father_ did not like it?

What if Yuzu found out that he was doubting her 'brilliant' idea? Their brilliant idea, really; they had come up with it together. Yet Yuzu was the one who knew how to bring it to life.

Yuya took a breath and looked to the three cards spread in his hand, wait, four. Four? The dueltainer shook his head. _Must have miscounted._

He looked at the pieces of paper that he had folded in half again – there were definitely four – and wondered what design to put on the front of them. Something happy, Yuzu had said, something that was right up his alley. Never mind that he could not draw.

It did not help that his hands were all but shaking from the anticipation of what was to come.

Discarding the blank greeting cards for a moment, Yuya scooped up one of the four – there was that number again; surely there was a reason for it – photos by his crossed legs. Ten smiles stared out at him to varying degrees, some full blown with teeth laid bare and others a mere tweak at the corner of typically straight lined lips.

It was a good photo even if it had taken them almost an hour to get between the bickering and almost fighting and general maiming conducted by either a well-known fan or equally well-known fist or knee. Nevertheless, there they were. Yuya and Yuzu grinning madly away. Sora and Serena flanking an ever eloquent Yuri. Yugo and Rin, the former forever on the end of a never-ending whack from the latter. The two Kurosaki birds sandwiching their phantom-like friend between them.

Ten children. Ten smiles.

Three adults, guardians, parents to thank.

Four cards to decorate before he slipped a photo in each one.

After the events that had transpired, albeit near a month ago, somehow Yuya did not think any dueling based theme would be the best way to go.

The fourteen year old rubbed his left shoulder, an ache still left over from the strain of that final battle with Zarc, specially from being thrown through a very resistant wall. Still, at least the ache in his head had faded to a few random sparks within a well of nothingness.

Why did they have to leave this until the last minute?

 _Because we came up with the idea last minute. Or at least the idea for the cards…_

That voice in his head did nothing to help matters, no matter how much it reminded him of the voice that was thankfully no longer in there. He glanced at the photo again, red eyes lingering over a pair of grey ones the longest. Tearing his gaze away from Yuto's frozen one, Yuya scanned the whole of the picture again, an idea beginning to form in his head.

There was a loud slam. From somewhere in the house he could hear someone's muffled cursing amidst a bout of raucous and borderline mocking laughter.

The noise had almost jarred Yuya's ideas from his memory, but he had managed to hold onto them despite the brief blow to his concentration. Taking ahold of a pencil, Yuya unfolded one paper card and laid it flat atop the photo he had previously held.

Staring at the still plain white sheet, the boy rubbed the back of his head. He glanced to the window in the room he shared with Yuto and smiled.

 _There we go._

Now the photo and paper where pressed up against the sun lit window, the former shinning through the back of the latter. A far easier way to trace the ten smiles onto the paper's cover. Then back to the floor to add a mess of coloured swells.

The end product was not fantastic, but it was something Yuya was proud of nevertheless. It spoke of what he was about, what the day was supposed to be about – smiles and joy and gratitude. So he repeated the design three times on the three other cards. Next he wrote carefully a name on each one: Shuzo, Yoko, Yusho-

He paused at that name.

A sea of emotion welled up inside of Yuya like darkness once had before, every drop filled with something more potent than misguided anger and lust for power. A hand clutched at a pendulum charm as a nose sniffed to stave off tears. His father was home now, would be soon sitting at a table with his son and wife and friend and said friend's daughter – and their extended unofficially adopted family – just like the old times before he had disappeared.

There was no reason for tears, Yuya told himself, none whatsoever now that his family was whole again.

Sighing, the young dueltainer glanced at the fourth card. Deciding to leave it blank, he slipped a photo into each.

 _There. Finished._

If only he could figure out the reason for that fourth card…

A loud thumping startled the boy from his musing. The dueltainer glanced at the clock beside his bed and grimaced. There was no time to work on presently unsolvable mysteries. If Yuzu had given him four cards then he had to put together four cards. If Yuzu wanted him to help Rin with making the food at four then he had better hustle.

Thoughts of a giant fan lurked in the back of his mind like Zarc had in Leo Akaba's as the clock ticked over the 4:21.

Sock clad feet dashed out of the room and into the hall, almost sliding spectacularly down it in obedience to gravity's sprawling pull. Yuya briefly cursed his thoroughness in cleaning the floor earlier that day. Or had it been Shun who was responsible for cleaning this part of the Sakaki household and thus his wildly whirling hands?

…

A moment later and Yuya was dashing along the same length of floor, this time with the four cards clutched in his fingers. With luck Yuzu would not take her fan to him if they were slightly crumpled.

Turning around a corner, the dueltainer caught sight of a familiar flash of red sweeping along at arm's height with a still persistent irregular step, although said irregularity had lessened over the weeks.

"Yuto!"

The Xyz duelist paused as he peered over a pile of packaged crepe paper streamers and yet to be blown up balloons. It seemed that Yuzu was going all out with the loud and bold decorations. The corner of Yuya's mouth tweaked up a bit at the thought. He focused his attention back on the person before him.

"Would you mind taking these cards to Yuzu? I've got to help Rin with the food," the young Lancer said.

His counterpart stared at him with those stone grey eyes. After a moment, they nodded. Yuya breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thanks," he said relinquishing the four folded cards to Yuto. "I didn't know who the fourth one was for. Could you ask-"

"I've got it," came the reassuring reply before boy, cards and packets of crepe paper and balloons disappeared like a ghostly apparition.

Yuya blinked. Even after a month of living with him, the Standard incarnation of Zarc had not grown used to Yuto's sudden, almost teleportation like movement. None of them had outside of Ruri and Shun, and the latter still cursed madly when his young best friend snuck up on him. Come to think of it, Yuya had never seen his Xyz look-alike sneak up on the younger of the two Kurosaki birds. The grey eyed boy blushed at even the thought of doing so. It was a fact that Yuya was sure Shun had more than noticed.

Shaking his head to clear it, simultaneously helped and hindered as that strange thumping echoed through the house again, Yuya broke free from his impression of a catatonic statue. He rubbed his slightly aching shoulder again – his rigorous cleaning of the house was likely the culprit of his continuing pain – and made his way to the kitchen where his mother's fabled food was concocted. Pancakes and noodles and that delicious, delicious pancake sandwich…

He stopped short at the door as his eyes took in the less than ordered sight. The string of drool that had been threatening to trail out of his mouth was rapidly swallowed back half from self-consciousness and half from fear of what the green haired girl waving an icing covered spoon over a cake would do the one currently, and as always, infuriating her.

"Focus, Yugo! I am not making _another_ batch of batter!"

"What if they don't like the surprise?" Yugo asked from where he continued pouring said batter into an already overflowing pan.

"They'll like it," Rin replied. "Now concentrate and stop pouring that batter!"

"But what if they don't like it?"

The green haired girl caught sight of Yuya and desperately signaled him with her eyes to requisition the bowl from Yugo's hands. He obeyed with little difficulty but no small amount of fluster as Yugo relinquished it to grab ahold of his Standard counterpart's jacket with battery hands.

"They've been so good to us. What if we ruin it for them? _What if they don't like it?_ What happens then?"

Each panicked question was punctuated by a sharp shake of whatever happened to be in the Syncro user's hands, which was most unfortunate for Yuya. Rin had already turned back to her icing of a large cake. No help would be received from that department.

The dueltainer carefully pat Yugo's hands even as he tried to remove them. "I'm sure my parents and Shuzo will be glad for the fact you are saying thanks to them and I am more than sure that they will like the dinner. You don't need to worry about them being mad or kicking your out or-"

"THEY MIGHT KICK US OUT? Oh no! Nononononononononononono…." Yugo moaned in despair.

 _Whoops._

Evidently that had _not_ been what Yugo had been stressing over.

Rin had turned around again, spoon in hand and a look in her eyes that remained Yuya too much of an infuriated Yuzu. He moved his lips sheepishly at her as she mouthed 'fix it or _I_ will' to him from across the room.

"And here I was just worried about whether they would like pancakes for dinner," Yugo groaned louder, grasping at his hair.

"Heheh… I think we may have misunderstood each other," Yuya said awkwardly.

"What's to misunderstand? They're not going to like the pancakes and they are not going to like the dinner," Yugo wailed. The pan beside him was now long forgotten as it cooked slowly away.

"They will like both," Yuya said firmly, drawing on all the love for his mother and all the steadfast belief he had held in his father – that he still held – despite three years of near everyone else telling him he believed in a good-for-nothing coward.

Yugo blinked at him. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," Yuya responded with that same resolute tone in voice.

Yugo continued to stare at the young Lancer before the smell of burning beneath his nose set off an alarm in his brain.

"ARGH!"

The blue eyed boy began to beat the batter in the pan with a spatula he had hastily picked up in a poor attempt to snuff out the source of the smoke. The runny batter on the top was flung everywhere, doing nothing more to prevent the bottom from burning than it did to clean the messy kitchen.

Yuya, meanwhile, dove to turn off the stove after setting down the bowl which still, by some miracle, contained half a batch of pancake batter. He lifted the pan from the hotplate and moved it away to the sink. The action caused Yugo, still flailing away with the spatula, to overbalance. He barely caught himself in time to avoid being burned by the hotplate. As the source of smoke was muted by the stream from the tap Yuya had turned on, both Yus breathed a sigh of relief.

Rin, however, was looking distinctly unimpressed with the pair of them. That spoon was back to pointing and both Yuya and Yugo swallowed dryly.

"You two come and finish decorating the cake," she ground out. "Then you can start skewering the fruit. _I'll_ make the pancakes."

There was no argument as the two boys backed away from the stove with their hands raised. The duo turned to where the cake Rin had created – with a little of Ruri and Yuya's help beforehand – lay waiting for its accessories to be finished being applied. A second later and Yuya almost face planted in it as his foot stepped atop Watt's unseen and underfoot tail. It was Yugo's quick reaction time, honed from years of driving a D-wheel with manual controls, that saved both his Standard counterpart and the baked goods.

"Do you want to do the icing or should I?" Yuya asked as he steadied himself and shooed the culprit canine out of the kitchen.

"You can decorate," Yugo said as he grabbed the bowl his not-so-secret crush had abandoned. "I'm better at spreading stuff."

After some thought Yuya went to the fridge and removed a punnet of strawberries. Back at the kitchen bench with Yugo, he took up a knife and began slicing the fruit in half whilst his Synchro look-alike finished drizzling the last of chocolate icing atop the cake.

"You're sure they'll like it?"

There was that question again, a sure sign of both his blue-eyed counterpart's distraction and prominent fears. Not to mention the potent desire he had to appease the adults who had taken him and Rin in ever since the pair had been taken in. This time though, Yuya would not make the same mistake as assuming he knew what 'it' was.

"Like what?" he asked.

"The fact we are making them pancakes for dinner."

"Yes, Yugo. They will like it," came the exasperated voices of the two other teenagers in the kitchen.

"They will like whatever we make them," Rin finished up.

"Oh." Yugo's voice was smaller than usual, softer too.

Yuya looked from the boy's thoughtful face down to where he had placed the last of the strawberries.

"I think we've finished," he said brightly, a smile plastered across his face.

Yugo looked at the joint creation. "Huh. I thought it would have been a bit more-"

"A bit more _what?"_

"Nothing, Rin Rin," came the Syncro dueler's hasty reply. "Onto the kebabs!"

"The skewers are over here," Rin called, shaking her head fondly at her old friend – and defiantly something more if he ever stopped recanting his accidental declarations of love out of sheer embarrassment.

Yugo looked up from where he had dove almost literally headfirst into every draw below the opposite counter. "Haha…"

"Skewer?" Yuya offered from the bunch he had taken up in his hands.

His counterpart accepted it wordlessly.

The next twenty minutes were spent by the pair skewering fruit as Rin speed around the kitchen. Where Yuya had settled into making three distinct and colourful patterns with the fruit available, Yugo had decided to haphazardly place anything and everything onto each skewer. For anyone analysing the differences between the two, their two different approaches spoke magnitudes about their personalities. It also spoke to Yugo's growing lapses in concentration as the same kind of fruit began to double and even triple up on his kebabs.

Still the Syncro dueler had not complained, at least not really, about the monotonous work so long as he could stay near Rin. It was more than evident that the blue eyed boy would do anything for his 'Rin Rin'; she had him wrapped around her finger and she knew it. She also knew that Yugo could not stand to pass up a challenge that ended with the one who skewered the most kebabs her kissing their cheek.

If Yuya went a bit slower than usual to avoid his Syncro counterpart's wrath at winning, than no one needed to know.

"Done!" came said Syncro counterpart's victorious cry as he placed the last kebab onto his pile, a pile significantly large than Yuya's. "I win!"

He was promptly turned into a gooey mess of blushing red as Rin deposited the promised peck on his cheek. The boy cupped said cheek tentatively a second later as those lips departed, scarcely daring to believe what had happened. Meanwhile, Rin was contemplating the two piles of fruit kebabs with a small frown on her face.

"I forgot what it was Shun said that his mother coated them with," she mused, in her focus skimming easily across that 'p' word the girl – like so many of them – would typically stumble over.

"Why don't you ask him then?" came Yugo's distant reply.

"I _would_ ," Rin said back. "Except I can't remember seeing him after he took down that jar of cinnamon for me this morning."

"Huh." Yuya did not remember seeing the tall Kurosaki around either, at least not since the seventeen year old had asked clarification for where the mop belonged. "If you don't need me here, I can go and look for him."

Rin sent him a smile that made Yugo fume a little at the side. "Thank you, Yuya."

Returning Yuzu's Syncro counterpart's smile, Yuya left the kitchen. This time he was mindful to avoid the wagging tail of Watt who had snuck back in. The chance would also give him a chance to deposit his batter covered jacket in the laundry.

The dueltainer decided to head to the laundry first, not wanting to confront the older and subsequently more intimidating Kurosaki in a dirtied jacket. The detour did not take long and soon Yuya was scouring the house for the surprisingly absent Shun.

Glancing at a clock the young Lancer grimaced. It was growing closer to seven with every jolted movement of the clock's elongated hands. As he continued staring at the clock a little longer than he should each tick became like a thunderclap, a reminder of a time a far younger Yuya had stood staring at that clock as he waited for his father to come home.

Yuya clutched the pendulum around his neck.

A ghostly boom of a tick later and the boy blinked. The incessant thumping that had plagued his time in the kitchen, distracting Yugo as much as the desire to please the adults of the Sakaki and Hiragi households, had started up once more. The muffled shouting from before accompanied it. Familiar shouting now that Yuya listened harder. Very familiar shouting.

Hesitating slightly at what he might find, Yuya began to move towards the source of the racket. All thoughts off food left his mind when he came upon the sight of the very same broom closet where he had told Shun to put back the mop.

Sora was leaning against the wall nonchalantly, looking for all the world as though he were bored. Kilo sat in front of him, alternating between dozing off and watching the boy twiddle the lollypop in his mouth around. The closet door next to them shook beneath a wrathful thumping.

"Open the door, Sora! _Now!_ "

Yuya had been right. It was a familiar voice that had been yelling with a familiar, if somewhat tempered by the weeks that had passed, anger.

"Let me out, you blue-haired, sweet-sucking fiend!" 

"Uh, why is Shun locked in the closet?" Yuya asked.

Sora shrugged. "Beats me. I'm just following orders. I got told to lock him in there and so I locked him in there."

"Open the door, you bastard!"

"Language," Sora reprimanded with a massive smile spread across his face, one that was of a more smug nature than Yuya had hoped for.

"Are you going to let him out?" the dueltainer queried.

"Can't. My orders are to keep him in here until otherwise stated," Sora said.

Another resounding thump left the door quaking on its hinges. At this rate, there wouldn't be a closet left for Sora to guard.

"And who gave you those orders?" Shun's acidic voice dissolved through the wood.

"I can't tell _you_ ," Sora smirked. "But I _can_ tell Yuya."

"What?! You little-"

"Language," Sora broke in again even as he gestured for Yuya to lean closer. Once the older boy was sufficiently in a place where Sora could whisper to him without his captured charge overhearing, the blue-haired boy's lips moved once more. "The two 'chicks'."

"What?" He had not been expecting that. "Why?"

Sora shrugged again. "I already told you I have no clue." He twiddled the lollypop in his mouth. "How is everything going?"

"Fine," Yuya answered, albeit distractedly. He returned to staring at the closet door. "How long has he been-"

Sora pulled the lollypop out of his mouth and inspected it. "No idea."

 _"When I get out of here–"_

"He hasn't stopped threatening me though, so I'd say not nearly long enough," the sweet loving youth grinned. "What does the cake look like?"

Yuya turned back to his friend. "Chocolate icing with strawberries on top."

"Yuya, tell him to _let me out!_ "

"Will you-"

"Nope." The 'p' was said with a loud and obnoxious pop.

"SORA!"

"You're really not going to let him out?" Yuya asked.

Sora shook his head.

The young Sakaki rubbed the back of his head. "And Yuzu's fine with it?"

"They said they would take care of it for me," Sora answered.

Yuya almost faced-palmed at the thought of who 'they' were. Shun was _not_ going to be happy when he finally got free. He sighed and bent to scratch Kilo behind the ears. There was really nothing more he could do here because he highly doubted that Sora would allow him to open the door of his own accord and he really did not want to find out for certain.

Standing, the young Lancer began to make his way back to the kitchen in an attempt to forget about the scene behind him even as the question 'why' danced about in his head. _Why? Why? Why?_

"Make sure Yugo doesn't eat all of the food," Sora said to Yuya's back.

The dueltainer halted and turned back, suddenly remembering why he had originally sought out the older Kurosaki at the mention of food.

"Rin wants to know what you told her to coat the fruit with," he called.

"Get me out of here and I'll tell her myself."

Another angry thump punctuated the sentence.

Sora's, "Not going to happen" tangled in the air with Yuya's pleading, "But she needs it now!"

After a few more thumps and more explicit curses at Sora, the closet, Yuya and the general world, the tall Xyz duelist finally relented.

"Salted caramel," came the bittersweet chirp of a bird lost in a distant memory that was now as untouchable as a ghost.

Yuya winced a bit at the underlying implication to the tone, the gleeful teasing laughter in Sora's eyes fading just a bit. There would be no tears marring Shun's face though. Not for one who had been a member of the Xyz Resistance, who had been caught fighting a brutal war for over five years.

While Yuya knew that his house was bubbling with excitement to show their gratitude to the three who had so readily taken in eight orphans along with their own children, he also knew that Shun was less excited than the rest. At seventeen years old and far too mature for his age, the older Kurosaki had formed a friendship more than a child-guardian relationship with Shuzo under whose roof he currently slept with his sister. Likewise, Yoko and Yusho were viewed more as equals than anything.

Still, what made Ruri and Yuto happy made Shun happy. Needless to say he also had masses of his own incommunicable gratitude to give, and so he was content to do his part in the set up of this dinner. Although Yuya was not sure which part involved being locked up in a broom closet.

Shun was _so_ _not_ going to be happy.

Avoiding Watt and Watt's underfoot tail once more, Yuya traversed back into the kitchen. Ignoring the sight of Yugo gasping on the ground from what was no doubt a spatula's well aimed strike, he relayed Shun's reply to Rin.

"Salted caramel?" she pondered over where she stood at the stove.

Yuya nodded in assent.

"Yugo, can you get me the caster sugar?" Rin asked. Seconds and a great deal of winded huffing later, the desired product was in her hand. "Thanks. Can you take the cake out to the dining room for me, Yuya? I need more space in here."

Obediently Yuya took up the cake and cautiously navigated his way into the doorway of the dinning room. He halted just in time as two chicks – one with a lingering limp from a battle with one too many fused dragons that Yuya would rather forget – came striding past him trailing orange crepe paper in their wake.

Pathway now clear, Yuya carefully maneuvered the platter he held to the table. After ensuring that it was far enough away from the edge that it would not fall off – Rin could figure out where exactly she wanted it positioned later – the young dueltainer looked around the room to see where he could provide his aid.

The room looked adequately festive. Balloons hung in the corners and from the ceiling like brightly coloured bubbles against the blue sky. Streamers were hung between them, each drooping in a carefully untwisted concave arch. Purples and oranges and reds and greens and blues and yellows blinded Yuya's eyes wherever he looked.

The fourteen year old grinned madly as he turned to where Ruri and Yuto were finishing off the last of the decorations with some difficulty as Serena and Yuzu blew up the last of the balloons.

A minute longer and Yuya moved to where the two from the Xyz Dimension were standing. He helped them secure the final end of the crepe paper draped around the room, holding it in place with Yuto as Ruri stuck it in place with tape.

"Why is Shun locked in the hall closet?"

"He's what?"

"That explains all the yelling and thumping," Yuzu said over Serena's loud exclamation.

Ruri and Yuto looked at each other, an entire conversation passing between their eyes in the breath of a second.

"We don't want to spoil the surprise," Ruri finally said. Whether it was an answer to his question or a refusal to provide such an answer, Yuya did not know. He suspected it was, perhaps, a mix of both.

The young Lancer resisted the urge to rub the back of his head. "And you left Sora guarding him because…"

"He's the least likely to let Shun out," Yuto replied, his calm and quiet logic ever present.

Yuya could not argue against the truth of that. Nothing short of Yuzu, Yoko or Yusho could curb the Sakaki's youngest addition from annoying Shun now he had grown out of, with Serena's help, actively avoiding him.

Leaving the issue, assuring himself that the Xyz pair would at least ensure no harm befell their brother and good friend, the deultainer turned back to decorating. Besides, Shun was more than capable of looking after himself. …Or at least not dying…

It was hard to complete _that_ train of thought given how often Yuya had seen the older Kurosaki push himself to the very limit time and time again, nearing the brink several times but never falling off it. He was too obstinate for that.

The angry thumping started up again, this time accompanied by a scream chocked by crumbs of sugar coated food.

"Hold this," a familiar voice said and suddenly his arms were full of fan folded napkins.

Yuzu proceeded to turn and whack Yugo in the face with her fan leaving a long red mark running down it.

"I thought you were supposed to be helping Rin make the food, _not eating it!_ " she berated.

"Rin kicked me out of the kitchen," he complained.

"THAT DOES NOT GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO TAKE A BITE OUT OF THE CAKE!"

And Yuya would have intervened had it not meant he would be whacked by that blur of a fan too. He also had been given the distinguished and important duty of minding the napkins, meaning he had no free hand to spare. At least that was what he told himself when repenting blue eyes turned on him with their pleading.

In any case, the dueltainer's refusal to help was far better reasoned than that of his Xyz counterpart. Yuto, despite him and Yugo having figured out their differences, had still a streak of animosity running through him towards the Syncro user. After all, he had been effectively _killed_ by him. So it was no surprise when the duelist who dueled with Phantom Knights simply teleported to the other side of the room when Yugo reached for him in desperation. And all he had been doing was leaning against the table whilst Ruri tested that the crape paper was secure.

"EVEN SORA KNOWS NOT TO EAT ANYTHING UNTIL AFTER THEY HAVE ARRIVED! OF ALL THE-"

"I _fell_ _onto_ the cake," Yugo defended from his sniveling position on the floor. "It's not my fault my mouth was open. Besides, why else would my entire face be covered in cake _and_ I would _never_ eat anything that Rin Rin made for this on purpose."

That last part was said with the smug air of someone who knew their argument was irrefutably right.

"And _how_ exactly did you _fall onto_ the cake with your mouth _perfectly open?"_ Yuzu asked in that voice that most had learned to duck for cover from, preferably in a bomb shelter.

"Uh, well, you see…"

 _"I'm waiting."_

There was an ominous rush of air as a fan was lifted through it.

"IwasseeingwhetherthecarboardrollsfrompapertowelsworkedwelltorollaroundonsothatmaybeIcouldyouknowdoatrickorsomethingbutitdidn'tworkand-"

THWACK!

" _Breath_ , Yugo. I can't understand what you are saying," Yuzu said. She thought for a moment. "Well, maybe every third word…"

"He was doing something that any smart person knows would not work and screamed when he fell over," Yuto said in his plain and cutting way.

"And you've never done anything stupid?" Yugo challenged through his fluster.

Yuto simply stared at him with that cool grey gaze, flaring Yugo's temper further. He raised one eyebrow, clearly intending to continue messing with the Synchro user.

"Frog," Yuya heard Ruri murmur in his grey eyed counterpart's ear.

The reaction was subtly spectacular as a light tinge of rose danced its way across Yuto's nose and cheeks. Whatever shameful memory the innocent word had conjured up, Yuya was sure it was one he would not mind hearing about from the typically stoic Xyz duelist. Or from Ruri, which seemed like it would be the more likely scenario.

Yuto moved out of the room muttering something that sounded very much like 'Shun' and 'should have known he would tell you' as Ruri glided behind him. As more thumping sounded echoed through the house, Yuya grimaced. Perhaps Shun would be better off locked in the closet if the glare his Xyz counterpart had worn when he left was anything to go by.

"Well? Are you going to put those napkins on the table or just stand there?"

There was nothing like the threat of a fan to get one moving from a standstill into high gear.

"And _you,"_ Yuzu said as she turned on the original trouble maker. Yugo cowered appropriately. "Refrain from rolling around the house on the paper towel rolls. We don't need another of you with an injured leg or injured anything."

"Yes Rin," quivered the puddle on the ground.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?"

And the room was suddenly bereft of one Syncro dueler who had hightailed it out of there at breakneck speed, on his own legs no less.

Yuya glanced warily at Yuzu from out of the corner of his eye.

"Is it just me or do you seem to be more stressed than you are when dueling?" he asked tentatively.

He should have taken notice of the looks Serena were giving him accompanied by blatantly obvious hand gestures that screamed 'Abort! Abort!'. It seemed Yugo was not the only one afflicted by stupidity today.

"I'm off to get Sora to let Shun out of the closet," Yuzu said leaving a twitching Yuya in her wake.

Serena shook her head after her counterpart. "Does stupidity run through all of your counterparts or only the ones who regularly get beaten up?"

Where Yugo would question if she was implying both Yuto and Yuri – the freaky Xyz 'chick' and the 'Fusion bastard' – were smarter than he was, Yuya was less stupid. He kept his mouth shut and focused on finishing spreading the fan of the last napkin he had set in place.

The tramping of feet, one pair with a slight limp, signaled the reentry of the two younger Heartland citizens into the dining room. The pair were laden with dishes and eating instruments that they quickly placed in a pile on the table.

Pushing a strand of hair back behind the red scarf tied around her hair, Ruri let out a breath and slumped against the back of a chair. A minute later and she straightened again as Serena shifted the same chair into place at the table.

"Help me with these, will you?" the Fusion user asked of Yuya's Xyz counterpart.

Yuto inclined his head in assent and proceeded to step over En who had been attempting to lay atop of his feet. It did not take long for the chairs to be set in place and, ending with Yuto placing four chairs around the table's head with Ruri and Yuya following diligently behind with the plates and cutlery.

En, meanwhile, had decided to play 'keep underfoot', so much so that Serena had forcibly taken the dog by the collar and shut him up in Yuya's room. Now she was busy tracking down the other dogs to ensure they did not cause havoc during the dinner. No doubt she had acquired Yugo's help in the task.

By now Yuzu had stormed back in muttering about stubborn sweet-sucking fiends (evidently she had been listening to Shun's tirade) and was helping to move the dishes of vegetables that had been warming in the oven to the table.

Yuya did not need a clock to know that its hands were thundering towards seven. The large increase in anxiety in the air was more than enough to mark the nearing passage of time. Now was the time for that mad dash to remove the last of the rubbish scraps left over from decorating as the last of the food was whipped up out of its ingredients and Yuzu went over her list again and again to ensure nothing had been left out.

"We're not going to make it. We're not going to make it," she muttered under her breath even as Yuya countered her with an adamant 'yes we are'.

Then came the knock they had all been waiting for.

"Everyone get into place!" Yuzu cried even as Yuya made his way to the entrance of the Sakaki household.

Taking a breath, the young dueltainer opened the door to find himself greeting Yuri. His Fusion counterpart bowed slightly in reply, before gesturing for Yoko to enter before him as any true gentleman would. He followed after, holding the door open for both an intrigued Yusho and Shuzo.

Core, meanwhile, had begun to weave about Yuri's legs. The cat was soon reduced to purring as a finger delicately scratched behind velvet-like ears. No doubt the animal would follow the Fusion user around the house for the rest of the day demanding the same attention as a god would.

A adamant thumping echoed around the entry hall accompanied by the sounds of a last minute scurry to place food on a table and the resounding 'thwack' of Yuzu's fan.

"What is that?" Yoko asked as she looked around for the source.

"Uh…" Yuya began.

"It is nothing," Yuri replied at the same time, far more eloquently than his Standard counterpart. "Would you allow me the pleasure of leading you to the dinning room?"

Yoko smiled and proffered her arm for the pink haired boy to take. Shuzo and Yusho trailed behind, the latter sending Yuya a bewildered and somewhat suspicious glanced. Yuya simply glanced up and tried not to give away the surprise. To do so would spoil the efforts of all involved as well as Yuri's success in convincingly keeping the three adults distracted by taking them on a tour through the gardens in Reiji's tower.

He clutched his pendulum charm once again, Yugo's words from before echoing in his own head. _What if they don't like it?_

It was too late to call it off now.

They entered through the doorway, Yuri and Yoko first, the two men after and Yuya bringing up the rear. Instantly the boy placed a smile upon his face, taking his father by the arm and directed him to the seat marked out by the card to him. Yuzu swept in to guide her own father to his place at the table, Yuri pulling out Yoko's seat for her to sit.

The adults merely stared, jaws near agape at the food laden table and boldly decorated walls. Rin smiled at the three adults, imparting her own greetings to them as she sat at the table with them. Yugo immediately dashed to her side, hastily saying hello to each of the adults already seated.

Ruri took the place next to Rin, pulling Yuto into the empty chair beside her. Yuzu took a seat next to her father, another empty chair left consciously by Yuya (he had a feeling it would soon be needed greatly by a certain sweet loving friend of his) before he took his own place next to Yuto. Yugo sprawled into place beside Ruri before remembering himself and blushing as he straightened up. Yuri eloquently slid into position beside Yoko, sending her an ever pleasant smile which grew as she sent a small one back to him. Serena took the space between the Fusion user and the blue eyed duelist from the Syncro Dimension.

"Alright, let's get on with this," Yugo stated, rubbing his hands together.

Yuzu looked around and frowned. "Aren't we missing-"

Sora suddenly dashed into the room, sliding into the empty place between Yuya and Yuzu where he would be safe from any forthcoming attacks from the disgruntled Xyz duelist that followed him. Shun's torment was not over, however, as both Ruri and Yuto leapt at him from the table. Working smoothly as a team – evidence of their ability to survive together on past battlefields – the duo dragged him to the empty seat between Yusho and Shuzo.

The eyes of both men were twinkling in amusement at the spectacle, each doing their part to ensure the flustered seventeen year old remained in place as Ruri and Yuto retook their own seats. Yoko gave a short laugh at the looks of near betrayal, extreme irritation and utter bewilderment Shun was sending what the others had taken to calling his two 'chicks'. She smiled further and leaned her head contentedly on Yusho's shoulder as their original son stood with a dramatic flourish.

"Sora, please dim the lights."

The boy did so, cheekily dancing around a subtly restrained and less subtly irritated Shun as he flicked the switches off.

"Ruri and Serena, spotlights please."

The two girls swung two high-beamed torches upon the four at the head of the table. Serena set a third to capture Yuya in it's blinding light.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come to reveal why you are all here." Yuya swept his arms out like a ringmaster in a circus. "We, the freeloaders in your houses, the reason for the grey in your hair, the children whom you, in a moment of weakness-" He received several laughs from the adults. "-chose to take in as your family, have put together this meal as a thanks for all you have done. But, before we dive into the food, we'll take the time to impart a few words from each of us to you."

The boy took a deep breath, steady himself for what was to come. As the primary host of this dinner along with its presenter, he would be first up to say his piece. Yuya swallowed and inhaled again.

"Mum and dad." If he hesitated there at that last word, it was not noticeable. The telltale thickening of his voice, however, was. "You are the best parents I could have asked for."

Yoko straightened slightly as she found herself the center of her son's attention. She smiled encouragingly at him, waiting for his next words.

"Mum, you've always been there for me encouraging me and pushing me to be the best I can be," Yuya began. "I don't think I could have gotten through a lot of days without your great breakfasts to fill me up or your smile to reassure me that everything is going to be okay. You were and still are always the steady rock that I can turn to when everything else seems to be down. So thank you for that and everything and just for being my mum."

Mother and son exchanged two bright smiles before Yuya broke off their silent conversation of love. His smile faded slightly into a more serious line as his gaze turned itself upon Yusho. Yuzu discretely reached her hand across Sora to lend her own physical support to the young dueltainer.

"I've always look up to you," the boy said. "Even when others claimed you were a coward and had run away. I never stopped believing in you, believing in what you taught me – to always smile." And Yuya did as he glanced around the table. "It served me well this last year especially. I don't think things would have turned out the way they had without it."

"Here, here," came the call from several young voices around the table as even more heads nodded their agreement.

"Thank you for coming back," Yuya ended in a small but steadfast voice.

It was not everything the boy wanted to say, nowhere near everything. But it was enough along with the shimmer in Yuya's eyes to let Yusho know the true depth of his son's feelings for him. They were the same as those of the boy he had left what seemed to the man so long ago. Yet they had also evolved, a more dependent streak clinging to that red hued gaze even as the confidence around them set the youth apart as his own person.

Yusho had many regrets in life, but none more so than the foul point the pendulum had swung to in his absence that had all but shattered his son. The man tightened his grip around Yoko's hand, thanking her for everything she had done, for managing to piece back together their son and communicating his undying love for her in that one voiceless gesture. Then he vacated his seat and moved to where Yuya stood watching him.

Father and son embraced each other. It was not as potent a move as when they had first been reunited or as desperately reassuring a one as those first moments after Zarc had stayed down for good, but it was an embrace ridden with love nonetheless. A second, two seconds, three seconds later and the ghostly thundering of a ticking clock had faded away for good.

The pair parted, Yusho ruffling Yuya's hair even as the boy rubbed the back of his head with a smile of his own. The man's grin widened as he returned to his seat, placing a kiss to the cheek of his wife and replacing his had on the shoulder of the one flight risk at the table.

Now Yuzu stood, the flashlight that had been trained upon Yuya swinging to her. The girl gaze her friend a reassuring hug as he returned to his seat, before turning to face her own father.

"Dad," she began only to bring out her fan when he promptly burst into tears. "Wait for me to get further than one word!"

Shuzo's sobbing did not abide, although it did quiet somewhat.

"My little girl," he chocked out, hugging his daughter close. "My little girl. I thought I'd lost you."

And now Yuzu too was crying.

"I will always come back to you," she said through the thickness in her voice. "You're the best dad I could have ever had. You've always been there for me, always made sure I had what I needed and that I was happy. Even when you annoy me and embarrass me you make me smile."

"It's what fathers are for," Shuzo answered, a knowing look exchanged with Yusho. "Did I ever tell you of the time when you played dress up with diapers? You were four and a woman had come over with her newborn looking to inquire about placement at the You Show Duel Academy-"

"DAD!"

All too quickly Yuzu's tears ceased in the face of a crushing wave of scarlet embarrassment. She seemed unable to find any further words, however, to express her displeasure.

"I remember that," Yoko laughed. "Yuya spent the next few days running around with his underwear on his head."

" _Mum…"_ came the whined reply.

"I think it was a week, dear," Yusho corrected. "And he was obsessed with wearing my capes as dresses as well."

Yuya simply buried his head in his arms, face burning a brilliant shade of red. Whether it was from embarrassment or merely the pleasure of having his father there _able_ to tease him like a father was supposed to.

"Still, Yuzu is the most precious little thing I've ever laid eyes on," Shuzo commented as he continued squeezing the air out of his daughter. "Even decked out in another baby's diapers and wearing half a watermelon on your head."

The subsequent affronted 'DAD!' was more like a dog's mangled whine than any real word. The 'thwack' that accompanied it was, in comparison, far more coherent response.

"I think it is time we moved on," Serena said from across the table, taking mercy on the two supposed to be hosting the dinner even as she failed to even attempt to hide her amused smirk.

The tough Lancer and Fusion user swung her second light to shine on Yuto and Ruri. Ruri, in turn, attempted to deliberately blind her elder brother with her own where he sat between the two men at the head. The taller Kurosaki did not seem to appreciate her attempt.

By now Yuya had decided it was safe enough – or at least the most polite course of action – to show his face again. Witnessing a quick glance between Yuto and Yusho, the latter quickly understanding what it was his son's Xyz look-alike was silently asking, the young Lancer finally understood why there had been four cards not three. So it was of little surprise that, when Ruri and Yuto stood, Shun's attempt was waylaid by Yusho's firm hand on his shoulder.

The action caused the older Kurosaki to almost growl in annoyance at the man beside him. Confusion was stark upon his face, but any attempt to rectify it was dissuaded as his closest friend began to speak.

"We cannot thank you enough for what you three have done for us," Yuto said sincerely. "You took us in when our homeland was rubble despite having your own families to look after."

"It was our honour," Yoko smiled over Shuzo's still loud tears.

Yuto shook his head. "You do not know how much your actions mean. You gave us a home where we had none left to go to."

He sent a look towards Shun who nodded in agreement from where Yusho's hand still forcibly kept him in his seat. Ruri continued with a melancholy smile even as Yuto discretely slipped his hand into her own.

"When Heartland was attacked, we were separated from our own families: my brother and I from our parents and Yuto from his mother. We tried to find them, tried to go back home at first, but with all the fighting and running and hiding we couldn't. We didn't even know if they were alive or carded or…"

She broke off, tears silently welling in her eyes, but still too much of a rebel to let them fall. Shun murmured her name, the words carrying a comfort stronger than any temporary guardian. Yuto squeezed her hand from where he stood at her side, his own grey eyes glistening but also too defiant to give in. Drawing in a breath, he continued for her.

"We found Ruri and Shun's mother later, carded. It was ripped, too ripped to even think about salvaging," he said. "We never found Mr. Kurosaki or my mother-"

"But if they were alive, they would have found a way to contact us by now," Shun stated.

The implications of what he had said hung in the air for a few suffocating moments. Those of the Fusion dimension sunk a little lower in their chairs from the weight of it.

"But that didn't mean we were without a mother or father for those three years," Ruri said fiercely, Yuto nodding in agreement. "As intimidating and anti-social as my brother can be, we only survived those first months, those years, because of him. The giant mother bird that he is, he ran himself ragged making sure we had food and shelter. He even attempted to go without so we could eat by telling us he had already eaten, although his stomach gave him away. Until then, I'd never heard anything growl so loudly in my life."

Shun turned red at this. He tugged at the red scarf around his neck like some sort of nervous tick. Ruri merely grinned at him, perhaps a bit maliciously as siblings were wont to do, and continued on with a more serious demeanour.

"He continued to look after us even when we met the Resistance. He saved our lives so many times. When I was kidnapped, you all know just to what extent he went to get me back. He didn't abandon me and he never abandoned Yuto." She beamed at the subject of her words even as her gaze spoke of a fierce and fiery love. "Even if he is overprotective, he's still the best big brother that I could have."

"And the best friend," Yuto added. "And the best guardian outside of my own mother." He turned his grey eyes on Shun. "Thank you."

Shun, meanwhile, had finally stopped his struggle to escape attention and fly back to his two chicks. His own yellow glare had been softened by a wetness, his fingers suspiciously pinching the bridge of his nose and the corners of both eyes as he gazed upon his little sister and best friend. Both Ruri and Yuto smiled at him. Their smiles grew as their 'giant mother bird' had to turn away for a moment, before turning back once more. It was telling that a fond smile had softened his typically hard lips.

It quickly morphed into an irritated frown as a thought passed through his head.

"Were you the ones who told Sora to lock me in that closet?"

Yuto's silent and stoic face was the perfect mask even as Ruri's grin betrayed them. She continued grinning amidst Sora's laughter, Yuya's own poorly reigned in smile and everyone else's bewilderment.

"Why would we do that?" she queried. At her brother's glare she shrugged, her grin never faltering. "We didn't want to ruin the surprise or have you interfere."

The two Kurosaki siblings stared each other down for a long minute. After swiveling his head between the two, Yuto simply sat back down unfazed. Finally Shun broke away, shaking his head as a smile played upon his lips once more. Ruri subtly knocked hands with Rin at her victory.

"Alright, whose next?" Yuzu asked directing everyone's attention to her.

"ME!"

WHAM!

Yugo was deposited back onto his seat, tears involuntarily running from his eyes either side of the pulsing red mark left by Serena's fist. Rin gracefully stood beside him despite her friend (and something more than friend) clinging to her like a well-chided toddler.

"What I say comes from both of us," the green haired girl said. "We are honoured that you would take us into your homes and let us live here for practically nothing at all."

"Yeah," Yugo said as he nodded beside her, recovering enough of himself to continue on. "Thank you for…uh…for…uh…for…"

Everyone watched with interest as Yugo slowly turned successively darker shades of red as he floundered. He took a breath and rallied for a final attempt which emerged as a single incomprehensible shout.

"FortakingusinandbeingkindtousandlettingmeuseyourgarageformyD-wheelandmakingusthebestfoodandgivingusaplacetosleepandUGH-"

"What he means to say," Rin cut in as Yugo went down with the same kind of breathless sharp cry one gives after a swift knee to the gut, "Is that we appreciate everything you have done for us. We've never really experience what it was like to have parents and I, at least, never thought that we would need to."

She broke off, taking a breath and exchanging a deep look with Yugo whose face was still scrunched in pain. Exhaling, the girl continued.

"I was used to surviving with just the two of us," she said. "Being orphans it was only ever the two of us that the two of us could rely on. There were a few people who helped along the way, but we were the only family we ever truly had. Until we met you."

She smiled shyly, more shyly than Yuya had ever seen her smile, at Shuzo who was crying again.

"When you first offered to cook me breakfast I almost thought that this was a dream and I was back…" A telling pause as she gathered herself and Yugo brushed her hand. "I was so used to doing everything myself or at least working to get others to do things for me. And you two-" She turned her gaze on the two heads of the Sakaki household. "-you both took in Yugo without any second thoughts and despite his tendency to cause trouble. Thank you."

"YEAH! THANK YOU!" Yugo's volume was an indicator of the nerves that still racked him. That was suitably fixed by another thump from Rin. "Sorry…"

"It's alright," Yoko smiled at him making her original son's Synchro counterpart blush a more brilliant shade of red. "Thank _you_ , both of you. Your help with the car was most appreciated."

"Yeah. And with my phone when I dropped it in that pond," Shuzo added. "Never seen such capable mechanics in my life."

Even Rin turned a little red at the praise. She promptly sat tugging Yugo, who had been frozen in a kind of blissful shock, down with her.

Serena winked at the green haired girl and swung her second flashlight upon Sora's own place at the table. At a quick nod, Ruri swung hers onto Serena and Yuri. The three children from the Fusion Dimension stood straight like any well trained soldier, despite the sharpness of their posture having already begun to be blunted down.

"I'll go first," Sora said grinning at Serena from across the table. He then turned to Yoko. "Mrs. Sakaki, you adopted me into your family like a stray even before you knew what was going on."

Here the youth looked down, remorse trailing across his face like tendrils of cloud over a full moon. It was evident that guilt of what he had done was still on his conscious, would still be on Sora's conscious for as long as he lived.

"I'm sorry if I ever did anything to hurt you and I am grateful that you took me in then and you took me in again, now," he said. "I once told Yuya that we never had friends in Academia, but we also never had real parents. We had teachers and trainers and role models aplenty, but never a mum or dad." Now he was looking back up, this time including Yusho in his gaze as well. "You've both given me that and you should know that I would _never_ do _anything_ to jeopardise it."

Both Yoko and Yusho stared at Sora with understanding and the knowledge that he said the truth reflected in his eyes, but neither belittled his speech by saying anything out loud.

"I'll forever be grateful for the fact you took me in and gave me a home," Sora continued. "But I will remain infinitely more grateful that you allowed me to be a part of your family. So thank you."

At a nod from the Sakaki patriarch and matriarch, he gestured for Serena to pick up where he had left off. The girl complied and focused her attention on Shuzo.

"As Sora said, we never had proper parents or guardians in Academia. It wouldn't have been Academia if we did. That makes what you have done for me matter all the more." Here she paused, reigning together her thoughts. "I think the thing I am most grateful for is that you allow me my freedom. I never had much of that in Academia; all that was expected of you was that you followed orders and you were expected to follow orders or deal with the consequences. But you allow me to do what I want, within reason."

Shuzo was smiling that full-blown smile of his as he listened to Serena's words. His eyes had been saddened by her recount of her experiences in that place so many of them refused to speak about or could not speak of without an underlying tinge of anger and hatred. Yet, despite this, the man's bright personality shone through to beam at the girl with great kindness and joy. And still Serena was not finished.

"You also helped to finally, truly free the less serious side of me," she told the man who had taken her in. "And that is something I will always be grateful for. So thank you for everything you have done for me."

Now it was Yuri's turn and the arguably most elegant counterpart of Yuya did not disappoint as he addressed Yoko and Yusho.

"I too lacked the experience of true parents or guardians," the Fusion user began in a slow and measured way. "And I now can accurately state that I did not know what good I was missing out on. I always felt out of place at Academia, never truly belonging, but I do not feel out of place here and I think that you, Mrs. and Mr. Sakaki, are both to thank for that. You have shown me that there is more that matters than dueling.

"You two are the best adults I have ever had the pleasure of getting to know, as are you Mr. Hiragi. That you would take me in, that you _could_ take me in is something that I assure you I am most grateful for."

The words were still carefully calculated, as Yuri's always were, but there was a subtle leak that had sprung within them communicating deeper than a mere gentleman's persona and gratitude. A graceful bow on his part to the three adults situated at the table ended his own small speech.

"Thank you, Yuri," came Yoko's soft voice as she brushed the boy's hand with her own. Her husband gave an acknowledging nod beside her.

Yuri's lips too on a pleased smile at that as the three former child soldiers who had originated from the Fusion Dimension sat. The makeshift spotlights all turned back to Yuya as the boy made to stand, evidently responsible for ending this part of the dinner. Yet his father beat him in taking the cue.

As Yusho stood, he commanded the attention of everyone at the table. All three torches had their light hastily swung onto him, catching the sequins of his vest in a glittering dazzle of colour.

"I think I speak for all of us when I say that we are grateful and honoured to act as guardians for all of you," the man said.

"He's got that right," Shuzo agreed from his own seat. "I am beyond honoured that you would all think I was worthy of your thanks."

Yoko nodded from beside her husband as Shun just awkwardly tried to disappear from the spotlight whilst remaining attentive and listening at the same time.

"You've all been through so much," Yusho continued. "And yet here you all are, sitting together even if and despite some of you being former enemies. _And_ you managed to create something like this, something that could have only happened with you working together. Yes, we are honoured to be able to be your guardians and that you would consider us family."

There was a stretch of silence as everyone thought on what Yusho had said as the professional dueltainer reclaimed his seat.

"I hope the food hasn't gone cold. That would be a waste of good food, not to mention the effort it took to actually make it all _and_ the effort it will take to clean up the mess we left in the kitchen."

Surprisingly, Yugo cowered for nothing when neither Rin nor Serena reacted to his statement. Even Yuzu failed to launch her fan across the table, caught up as she was in her father's too-tight but no less affectionate embrace. Instead those situated around the table laughed, the blanket of emotions that had been placed over them and drained them somewhat receding slightly as they did so.

"I'll get the lights," Sora said as Serena and Ruri finally turned their torches off.

"Whose idea was this?" Yoko asked as she reached for the plate of pancakes in front of her, the first to make any such move.

"Yuzu's," her son answered.

"Yuya's," Yuzu said at the same time.

The two glanced at each other and then glanced away, trying their best not to break into a fit of laughter. Sora glanced between the two with a raised eyebrow as he slid back into his seat once more.

"We all pitched in," Yuya finally said.

"But they were the ones who decided we needed a 'thank you dinner' in the first place," Yuto said in that soft and cool way of his.

"And who decided to make the pancakes?"

"Why? Don't you like them? I knew we shouldn't have made them for dinner," Yugo panicked much to the amusement of everyone around him.

"I think it was a brilliant idea," Yoko smiled.

"I mean, I knew you would like them," Yugo recovered. "That's why I told Rin we had to make them."

It was only the slight shake from Yusho's head that stopped the blue eyed Syncro user from being thumped by both Rin and Serena. It did not, however, stop the few muffled snorts that broke free from where Yuya was biting his lip.

As if an invisible cue had been given, everyone else around the table began to compete for the dishes in front of them. Several times Sora's hands had to be beaten away from the cake – it would be served with the rest of the deserts when Rin brought them out – and Yugo's manners left a lot to be desired. Still, the scene for the next happily passing minutes presented the image of a family who got along like dueltaining and smiles.

At least it was the image until Yusho asked why the cake was not only slightly squashed, but had a bite taken out of it.

"It was Yugo's fault," came Yuzu's quick response.

"IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!"

"That doesn't change the fact that it was your stupidity that made it happen."

"What? How- _Serena!_ "

"She's right you know," came a quiet voice from across the table.

"That's it. If you want a challenge, you've got a challenge!"

"Maybe if you just-" 

WHAM! THWACK!

 _"Rin!"_

"What was that for, Yuzu?"

"Don't look at me. You deserved it."

"But I didn't do anything!"

"So how was your stay in the closet, Shun?"

"Why you little-"

"Really, brother?"

"Tea, Mrs. Sakaki?"

"Why, yes. Thank you, Yuri."

Yusho leaned back against his chair and shared a glance with Shuzo. This was what he had missed, what both had missed due to events they would rather forget. Yet, as the bickering continued around them amidst the chewing of good food, neither man would go so far as to wish those events had never transpired. After all, despite that heart wrenching time missing their family, said family had grown much larger in return.

* * *

 **Massive thanks to Kuroganefang who helped with with Yuri's character (i.e. figuring out how I would write him for this series - thanks again so much!) and some other advice for this story. :)**

 **On Yuri, his 'speech' is based around the idea that he would seek out praise (and not necessarily like it when that praise was given to others, but I'll play with that idea later on) of those acting as his guardians. This is mixed in with a genuine and deep overwhelming desire to be liked and belong, as well as an interest in going along with this new life (I'll deal with his issues with desiring power and dominating carding people in a later story too - likely the next one for this series). So I aimed for his speech to be a cross between measured and calculating, and that genuine overwhelming desire for Yoko and co. to like him. I hoped I did alright with it (still a bit iffy on his character - thanks again though, Kuroganefang).**

 **I stuck Shun in a kind of awkward position here (which made him a little difficult to write in terms of appropiate reaction, especially at the end there when Yusho was talking). In my mind, he sees the adults as more equals (considering he would practically consider himself an adult by now given what he's been through and the fact that he, for the past 3-4 years, has likely largely taken care of himself) meaning that he doesn't really see them as guardians. Also, like Yuto and Ruri view him as their primary carer (although they too have a 'I can look after myself' attitude to varying degrees), he also views himself the same way. Thus he is placed with the adults. BUT he does also view the adults - mainly Shuzo - as a guardian for simply providing shelter and the like, as well as the fact that they _are_ older than him (and really, he still would want at least a little of a parental figure's reassurance like any teenager). Thus he is placed with the other kids. So a bit of a complicated relationship... Also, not all chapters will be this long if I continue this series; they will vary in length. **

**In any case, I hope you enjoyed this and hoped that I was true enough to the characters. Please review if you feel so inclined. I would greatly appreciate knowing what you thought of this.**

 **If you would like to suggest/request something for me to write on here, please leave it in a review or PM me.**

 **Also, does anyone know the sex of the pets in the Sakaki household - Kilo, Watt, En and Core?**


	3. Something to change for

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh Arc V or any of its plot, characters or related franchise.**

 **This one focuses on Yuri (I'm playing with his character a bit to get a better idea of how I want to write him) and Yoko. It's shorter than the previous chapter, given it is more introspective in nature.**

* * *

Yuri could feel the creature staring at him like all cats were wont to do. Two large eyes, one yellow and one blue, continued to gaze at him lazily and unblinking. It was almost what the former Fusion solider would call disconcerting.

The pink haired boy wondered how the feline's stare would look from a card.

Almost instantly Yuri's mind reeled back from the thought. It was a surprising action, one he would never have even comprehended in the not so distant past. To second guess his instinct to card those inferior in skill, to demonstrate with great finality how much better he was than those who dared challenge him was as severe a blow against his character as being forced into Zarc had been. It was unthinkable. It was against everything he had carefully become in the past years. But what would she say should he now follow through those same instincts?

As if sensing his thoughts, the cat finally blinked and began to purr.

"I think Core likes you," the smiling woman said across from him. "And that's saying something. She scratched my husband when they first met, as well as Shuzo Hiragi."

Yuri fought back a wince as claws dug leisurely into his leg with kneading paws.

"She's generally very good-natured though," Yoko continued fondly. "And gentle with most children."

 _It would be impolite to wince_ , Yuri told himself as the claws kept on tenderising the same spot on Yuri's thighs.

"I found her sleeping on our doorstep almost two years ago. She was initially hostile, understandably given that the life of an alley cat is no picnic, but Core settled soon enough. She just needed some affection, which I was more than willing to give."

If there was an underlying parallel to the woman's words, Yuri did not know where exactly it laid. Her smile was genuine enough, her green eyes filled enough with what the Fusion user supposed was kindness as she sat across from him.

The pink haired boy took a moment to glance once more around the room, the lounge he presumed of the Sakaki household. It was a curious place filled with many things that had no other apparent use than to be novel in appearance. It was certainly better than the LSD tower that so grossly promoted the false talents of its duelists. The two empty teacups sitting on the low table between himself and the blonde woman was also a comforting sight amidst the foreign.

A beat later and Yuri's gaze had turned back to focus on his hostess as was deigned polite in such situations. She made it easy to focus on her. It was that smile, that look in those eyes, that thanks she had given when he had caught that falling saucer…

No, she would not be pleased if he carded any creature in her house and, for some reason, it was that very thought that stopped him from doing just that.

The boy nodded politely to Yoko's conversation even as the haughty predator inside him shook with anger at being suppressed.

"With two dogs already, it was refreshing to have a cat around the place. Of course, I had to take in En and Core gets along fine with the dogs mostly, but I have been wondering about getting another cat." Yoko shifted slightly on her seat. "Did you ever have any pets?"

"Not in the conventional sense," Yuri answered politely. "I did keep a number of plants in my room though."

"You must have quite the green thumb."

A swell of pride, not unlike that he gained from his duels and yet at the same time o' so different, made itself known in the pink haired boy's chest.

"Some of them have very specific needs which makes caring for them difficult," he said. "It takes effort to maintain the moist and mineral-free soil required by the Sarracenia purpurea or ensure that the Stapelia gigantea has good drainage. I have found not everyone has such patience or dedication as is needed to care for such exotic species."

"I can barely keep a simple daisy plant alive for more than three months," the blond woman across from him said. "I do love growing roses though, as commonplace as they might seem compared to the exotic plants you kept."

Yuri gave a charmingly measured smile. "There are still several more rare species of roses. Take the Duchesse d' Angouleme rose for instance."

While Yuri despised many a plant for their perceived weakness, favouring the carnivorous and predatory, roses intrigued him. They were the stuff of great passion – a fact that in itself did not capture the boy's interest – and regal in appearance, often argued to be the most beautiful of flowers. They were no true predator, but they bore vicious enough thorns that many overlooked for its deceitful flower. And yet, if one avoided the thorns, a rose's petals were soothing to the touch. It was a flower that was strong in its weakness.

The Sakaki matriarch was, no doubt, a rose.

"What is your favourite plant?"

"I suppose it would be the Dionaea muscipula or, as it is more commonly referred to, the Venus flytrap." Yuri folded his hands over the back of the cat atop his lap, his bottom thumb unconsciously moving in small strokes. "Like the Roman goddess, it is beautiful in its own way."

"I suppose it is," Yoko agreed. "All life is beautiful in its own unique way."

"Take yourself as an example," Yuri said in that same charming manner he could draw upon so easily. "You have inherited some good genes."

The woman across the low table gave a little laugh and smiled at him once more. Yuri gave a small smile back, noting with well hidden perplexity at how his pride – or was it contentment? – increased yet again at her response.

It had been almost a week since they had transported from Academia to the Standard Dimension (and how standard it was; even from what little he had seen, most of the duelers would be unable to hold a flame to his immense talents), almost a week since the self-proclaimed supreme duelist Zarc had been defeated. With the new location and the new hierarchy that had been established amongst those who had taken part in that final duel, the Fusion user had been carefully analysing his situation and that of those around him.

Yuri knew that his synchro counterpart – that annoying, inferior blue and yellowed haired boy – had likewise been staying at the LSD Tower, an invitation that the irritating being had taken up only too gladly once free of the hospital. His Standard lookalike and the supposed son of the woman before him and that dueltainer Yusho Sakaki, was still hospitalised though as he suffered form whatever injuries he had received. So too was his mysterious Xyz counterpart that Yuri had yet to truly meet.

Of them all, it was Yuya Sakaki who intrigued Yuri the most. His adamant pursuit of smiles, whilst juvenile, was not the mark of an amateur (that said, the _standard_ boy was no where near as good as him). His words had seemingly ensnared dozens of people including loyal Fusion soldiers (or former soldiers now that Academia was nothing. Nothing! He would show them nothing, he swore it to himself) like a honey covered trap, sweet and sticky and impossible to escape. He wondered if his cheerful lookalike could trap him, the obvious predator of all the counterparts.

As it was, none of the three would receive no sympathy from him for their pain. Only an inferior duelist would have been injured in that last victorious duel. He himself had proved that much having emerged unscathed save for a passing fatigue.

The desire to enter the hospital and card his lesser counterparts had been itching at the corner of his mind every moment since.

Of the girls, the pink haired boy did not care much for outside of a passing curiosity. He knew after briefly visiting the hospital they had all been released. They were now housing with the man the one named Yuzu called her father, a standing declaration that he should never visit. The Fusion reincarnation of Zarc doubted that the leader of the Lancers would have allowed him to in any case. Up until today it had seemed as though he were a prisoner in the Professor's son's tower.

That thought sent the predator within him into a rage, snapping its teeth like Starve Venom Fusion Dragon before it took its final lunge towards its victim. How dare that arrogant son of the Professor belittle him by trapping him like an worthless insect! Yet without his duel disk and deck, Yuri could do nothing but stand such treatment.

He was patient. He would wait until the prime opportunity to remind the older boy (a boy! That fact made his imprisonment even worse) just why he had been feared by all those he dueled.

The cat's claws dug contentedly into his leg once more and Yuri's fingers twitched for a duel disk that was not there.

"How has your time been in here the Standard Dimension?"

"Interesting," Yuri replied. It was as honest an answer he could give whilst still maintaining the polite and charming front he had concocted.

Better to maintain such a front until he determined why exactly he had been brought to this house and left in the presence of its owner.

Yoko smiled softly at the pink haired boy once more.

He did not doubt that this woman could take care of herself if her husband and that Reiji Akaba had deigned it fine for her to sit alone with him in a room. She had a hardness around her, a past that Yuri did not know but that's consequences were evident all the same.

She was not quite a fly; certainly higher up on the food chain than the inferior Xyz Dimension inhabitants Academia had taught him about or the Fusion soldiers who had sought to challenge him out of misplaced confidence in their skills, but notably lower than himself. Yet, he doubted that she would be so foolishly eaten by a Dionaea muscipula.

If she was, both the Professor's son and Yusho Sakaki were quietly talking, perhaps almost arguing, in the next room over.

It was funny to see how they took such precautions that – if he had his hands on a duel disk and not in the white fur of a feline – would prove to be pitiful at best. O, how Yuri longed to acquire a duel disk and show them what he was truly capable of once more.

And yet…

Why was it that some small part of him did not?

"Have you thought about what you will do for a home while you are here?" Yoko was asking.

Yuri's fingers gracefully moved to stroke the cheek of the cat atop him. He tilted his head partly in thought of the question, partly as a show of thought whilst he rallied himself from the tangled place where he had yet again been sent by bewilderment. In polite conversation, however, such a question required an answer. It could not be met with silence forever.

"No," the boy finally answered. "I have not."

He doubted that he would be allowed to return to the Fusion Dimension, not so soon after the dramatic events near a week ago – and over the past few years – and not where that dreadful Akaba _child_ could not keep an eye and a dozen security cameras trained upon his doings. He _refused_ to stay in that damned tower where he could only dream of carding the too smug faces he saw walk past him day after day.

"I do not know what I will do," Yuri continued, his lips perhaps a tad looser, a smidge less controlled than usual in her presence.

"Would you stay here with us, then?"

There was no pleading in her voice, no lack of understanding of what the boy in front of her had done and had planned to do. It was not with weakness that those five words had been uttered. No, this woman sitting across from him was far from being mere prey. Of that, Yuri had no doubt.

But, strength aside, it was her expression that gave him pause, that made the Fusion reincarnation of Zarc actually consider what she had offered. Her lips were gently curved beneath her eyes, eyes that were edged with something more than kindness.

On Yuri's lap the white cat suddenly stretched and rolled onto her back, small cheek pushing against the boy's elegant fingers.

"You certainly have a way with her," Yoko said.

There was that glow again, that strange warmth that could be likened to a metaphorical embrace if Yuri had ever been hugged. But he had not, not in his oldest memories and certainly not ever in Academia.

The warmth was a new sensation. It contrasted the waves of power he had been steeped in for so long, light where the latter had been heavy, more gentle in the face of power's harshness. It was as much a suffocating blanket as his old lust was, a maw ready to consume him, even the parts that had already been consumed by a specific greed. Already the warmth's first hooks were latching onto him, potently addictive to one whom had never experienced it before.

And Yuri liked it.

"Thank you, Mrs. Sakaki," the former Fusion soldier said with an incline of his head.

Her smile at him grew wider, the thing around the edge of her green eyes becoming more prominent.

 _Perhaps_ , he thought, _it would be worth trialing the offer she proposed. But how to accept it?_

He was a predator, not a fly that blindly flew into the scarlet maw of the same plants he so admired. His pride would not allow him to act as anything less in this endeavor.

"Back to my previous question, before Core distracted us. Would you like to live here in this house?" Yoko said.

Yuri's lips gave their own smug tweak, pleased it was not he who would be forced to beg for acceptance. Still, he could not call her own words begging either. Prey begged. Roses did not and neither would this woman.

 _Curious._

A moment of silence added itself onto those before it before the pink haired boy gave an answer, not wanting to be seen as too eager. To counter the traitorous, inferior excitement that was for some reason tingling in his hands, he focused on stroking the purring cat in his lap in carefully measured movements. Another moment passed before Yuri deemed it long enough and opened his mouth to answer.

"I think I would like to see how it would work." Slow calculated words lacking a promise even in their careful acceptance.

If his lips moved more easily in the accompanying smile, Yuri took no notice.

"There would, of course, be rules and my husband and I plan to extend this offer to the other boys as well," Yoko said. "You would have to help around the place; it is not a hostel we run here. The chores would be within reason, of course, and everyone would have their own to do."

"Of course," Yuri nodded. That would only serve to make things more interesting.

In any case, it would be a change from the isolated and sterile halls of Academia. Perhaps he could even see if he could move some of his old plants here.

His hostess clapped her hands together in something akin to pleasure. "If you wish, we can tell my husband and Reiji about your wish to change accommodation. Perhaps we can even have you here by the end of next week!"

Yoko stood and Yuri followed her lead, quickly coming to regret his abrupt movement.

Claws were digging into his leg yet again, harder this time before they fell away. Vicious thoughts about giving that creature what it deserved for daring to go against him, he who had felled so many duelists far more worthy – and yet still not quite – of challenging his superior skills. Yuri's hand almost moved towards where his duel disk would have been. Almost.

Once again she stopped him without knowing it.

"Are you alright?"

The woman's words floated around in his head like wispy white clouds recently freed from a great and terrible weight. They were so different to the stern words of the teachers and the Professor in Academia, different to the jealous mutters of fellow soldiers and the bragging boasts of inferior duelers. Her words seemed the very antitheses of what drove him to test his skills and power. They continued their soft echo, opposing and muting and calling those predator instincts to another path.

"Core didn't scratch you, did she?" Yoko continued.

"No," Yuri replied, barely able to hide his surprise. "Thank you for your concern."

And if those last words of his were more genuine than polite, he hid his surprise at that fact too.

The boy followed Yoko as she began to move once more, after another concerned glance over him. He felt the cat staring at him with its odd coloured eyes as he exited the room after its owner.

It would shake Yuri's center substantially for the rest of the day when he realised that for some almost inconceivable reason, as he had followed Yoko the predator inside of him had not wanted to card the weaker creature in the slightest.

* * *

 **Alright. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter.** **Thanks a bunch again to Kuroganefang for helping me to nut out how I wanted to write Yuri (your suggestions kind of inspired this particular story).**

 **On Yuri for this series: my view of him (formatted with Kuroganefang's help) is that he still holds the desire to card people and prove himself as superior and more powerful (thus a bit of a desire for power too). He also retains his gentlemanly and elegant mannerisms, as well as his tad disturbing calculating side. But I also view him as having a deep set longing (that he doesn't necessarily realise he has) to belong and be shown affection. This is as I doubt he has any memory of it if he was given this as a child, and Academia likely did not provide such warmth and praise. As Sora said, they didn't have friends. Yuri's personality and better duelling skills would have isolated him further. As such, it is a new sensation when Yoko offers him praise as well as kindness (affection would come later, I think). Given his personality, I think this sensation would be addictive for him leaving him wanting more. Likewise, his calculating side would want to see where this is going exactly. Thus he accepted her offer. Because of this, he would also develop a closer relationship with Yoko than the other adults (Yusho would be wary of him; Shuzo would dislike him for attempting to/succeeding in attacking/kidnapping his daughter and her lookalikes) - partly also due to the fact that she gives off a hardness from her days as a gang leader meaning he would respect her somewhat. As Kuroeganefange pointed out, Yuri would also get jealous when attention/praise (particular Yoko's) was given to someone else leaving him either competing to get it focused back on him or otherwise bringing out his nastier personality.**

 **In relation to his relationships with the others, I think he would always be a bit on the outside partially on purpose. Yuya (and maybe Serena and Sora) would be the ones he would get closest too. Yuzu is another possibility - although I think she would remain eternally creeped out by him to some degree. Ruri, Rin, Yuto, Yugo and Shun would likely dislike him for an extended period of time, if not forever - also possibly not truly trust/forgive him. Anyway, that's Yuri for this series - something to bear in mind if you have suggestions for ideas for him (which would be good because I need some...) And now, at least, I have a better grasp of how I want to write him.**

 **On the Sakaki pets: I've decided Core is female and adopted after Yusho left - I couldn't find any information that told me otherwise in canon. En I would guess was adopted after Yusho disappeared (given how young the dog seems to be in the anime), and I would tentatively guess En is a he? If anyone knows for sure and/or knows the gender/when they were adopted of the other two Sakaki dogs, I would appreciate it if you could tell me.**

 **For those of you who are interested, I wrote a one shot titled _'A Froggy Incident'_ that covers the backstory for the frog joke/story motif I used for Yuto last chapter (and will use in following ones) and 'Red Scarves and Wooden Valleys'. It is set pre-series, but is technically a part of this AU post-series thing. **

**RESPONSE TO GUEST REVIEW - Flokingaround: _First up thanks for reviewing and thanks for that info on the war timeline. I'll try and keep that in mind. Your suggestion for a story idea I did a short drabble on; as it did not fit the theme of this series, however, and I see Dennis as remaining carded for this AU thing, I will publish it as a separate one shot titled 'The Smiles of a Guilty Mind' within the next few days. As to your second request/suggestion with Yoko, Yuto and Ruri that will appear in this series, but at a later date (give me time to get around to it and figure out how to do it ;) Although this series won't be chronological, I also hope to develop their relationship throughout the other chapters with them too. I've got an idea for how to slowly accomplish it._**

 **I hoped that you enjoyed this and would be very grateful if you could leave a review. (Thanks to all those who have reviewed, favourited and/or followed this story so far! It is much appreciate!)**

 **If you have any suggestions or** **requests or ideas for this series (those that don't fit exactly may become a separate one shot), feel free to PM me or leave them in a review.**


	4. Something to run to

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh Arc V or any of its plot, characters or related franchise.**

 **Alright. This one's about mama bird and his non-blood related 'chick' (his other chick makes an appearance as well). It draws on an idea I played with briefly in 'Red Scarves…'. Please enjoy.**

* * *

The coldness of the rain was keeping him awake as much as the echoes of sadistic grins marching behind the screaming innocent and all too defenceless masses in his head. On and on those ghostly screams went, the hellish phantom noise driving each of his steps forward to their destination. If he collapsed from the accumulating exhaustion of a series of sleepless nights, then it would be far from the first time he had slept outside.

Then again, it might not be worth it.

Shun would be displeased should he find out his younger friend had taken a nap in the nighttime rain. Ruri too and Yuzu, her Standard counterpart. He doubted that Yuya's parents, Yuto's current hosts (although not in the most present moment, not that they knew it where they slept soundly in their shared bed), would be happy either. And Yuya… Yuya would simply be worried.

No, sleeping outside would not be worth the trouble it caused him. So the Xyz duelist pushed on beneath the blind glare of a near empty moon, taking even less note of the cloud covered sky than the rain that had long since pasted his hair to his head.

His fingers moved to the cards in his pocket, the duel disk he had unconsciously strapped to his arm out of habit before leaving. Being alone in the night mere weeks after the war and all that followed had truly ended did nothing to cease the caginess of his instincts. The worst attacks were the unexpected ones like the initial attack on Heartland, like the attack in his nightmare.

Yuto bit his lip for a moment and hurried his footsteps, wincing at the pressure on his not yet fully healed leg. The lingering pain from where glass had deeply slashed him in that final duel had not been helped when he had been forced to push En off his other leg whilst the Sakaki family cat had trapped his arms (the one night that the white feline had decided not to sleep on that Fusion user's bed…). It was a miracle neither animal had woken during that process; the last time he had attempted to switch nests in the night he had woken En who had then promptly howled, waking the entire household, until Yuto had climbed back through Yuya's window.

The incident had not done anything to warm Yuto's feelings towards the small canine in the slightest.

A shadow seemed to pass over the sky darkening it further as the rain, if it were at all possible, poured down even harder. The grey eyed boy hunched in on himself, ineffectively rubbing his arms through the sopping sleeves of the jacket he had pulled on. He grit his teeth as they failed to warm, then sighed. Soon he would reach the only safe place left in which he trusted. He could warm himself far more effectively there.

The next and last street was taken with somewhat numb footsteps and an even number mindset. Losing himself to the cold – although not so far as to be helpless if caught unawares – helped the Xyz user to lose the images from his nightmare from the edges of his mind, although he was sure that they would return again soon enough. Still, the brief respite the freezing rain gave him was welcomed. Almost any respite from such horrors would be welcomed. But perhaps not the uncomfortable cold.

Yuto sighed again, this time in relief, as the building that was his destination loomed before him.

As quick as a diving Peregrine falcon and light as a specter, the boy scaled a modest brick wall. A few moments of peering over each side of the attached roof assured him that there were no immediate dangers surrounding the house that night. He leapt silently back to the ground, driven by the tantalising tendrils of exhausted repose. The same desirable sensation saw him then move to a familiar point of entrance. Placing two hands against the slick glass, the grey eyed dueler lifted it slightly.

It gave way.

Yuto exhaled the breath he had been holding. The window was not locked just as he knew it would be. After that first time where he had been reduced to knocking upon it for the sleeping occupant of the darkened room to let him in, its catch had been left in such a state so as to allow the boy entry whenever he desired. At the very least, it allowed Yuto to pretend he did not wake his best friend when entering said friend's room in the Hiragi household.

At the very, very least, Shun did not have to leave the warmth of his bed to open it.

The grey eyed teenager slowly maneuvered the glass upwards in its frame just enough so that he could climb through. Once done, he just as carefully shut the window, his quick and soundless movements seeming much like those of a ghost. When morning came all that would be left to betray his point of entrance would be a small puddle of water on the windowsill.

For a moment Yuto paused, staring out into the damp darkness of the night. The rain pattered relentlessly against the glass, the water sliding off it like the smile off of a Fusion soldier who finally realised they were going to lose to Xyz 'scum'. His nightmare had not been pleasant, although it was not the worst that had plagued his sleep since the war and Leo Akaba and Zarc. At least this one had not left him in tears.

He rubbed his leg, trying to ease the ache that had settled in it from his still healing wound.

The Sakaki matriarch and patriarch would no doubt be somewhat hurt that he had chosen once again to flee to Shun from the nightmares in his head instead of to them. Yet, as kind as the two adults were, as empathetic, Yuto to confined in them, to make himself truly vulnerable before them. They did not radiate safety like his unconventional guardian did nor had they been through the same horrors.

It helped, he had found, when one could speak to someone who suffered from similar bad dreams and fears.

"Are you going to stand there all night?"

The older Kurosaki's voice was still drenched in sleep, lessening the bite of its sarcastic edge.

It was as good an invitation as any to start moving.

Yuto stepped along the well worn path to his friend's bed, needing no light in the familiar black. Kneeling down with a silent grimace as his aching leg gave a twinge in protest, the grey eyed boy reached underneath the bed to pull out a pillow and blanket. The floor would serve fine as a mattress; he had slept on worse with less roof above his head.

Makeshift bed finished, the Xyz duelist laid back and stretched out across the ground. This time he gave an audible wince at the stiffness in his aching appendage. The sound was loud enough to be heard by a falcon's concerned ears.

"Your leg?"

"It's fine," Yuto replied. A second of disbelieving silence later. "It aches, but-"

"It's nothing you haven't worked through before." The words were slurred with a careless disorientation reserved only for those with whom voice of the words felt most secure with, but their underlying tone bore no less bitterness or regret.

Yuto sighed into the darkness.

He wondered if it was possible to loathe the war more now that it had ended than when it had first begun. He wondered if it was possible to loath those who caused it even more.

That the consequences of the war were still as stark as the ruined tower of Heartland, that the survivors were plagued with night terrors and worse even after everything they had already gone through…

This life was not a fairytale, there were no rightful kings to restore peace and prosperity to the land with a wave of heir hand, no knights in shining armour – ghostly or otherwise – that could eradicate the fear left behind. There were only knights in horribly dented armour, those who had gained the wisdom that nothing ever truly had a happy ending. One could only hope for bittersweet at best. And armour, once dented, was harder to remove.

Yuto glanced at the duel disk around his arm and bit his lip. He then looked blindly through the dark to where he knew Shun kept his own close at hand. They were things of power, weapons that could destroy even more than they could protect. It was almost laughable, almost, that mere toys as some would call their original purpose were capable of such horrific feats. Yet how many other toys had been twisted for the same immoral purpose? As many as wooden swords had been exchanged for real by knights and rascals and all that fell in between in the past.

As many duelers as had turned power hungry and bloodthirsty by the crowds that cheered them on.

Suddenly unable to stand the thing on his arm, the Xyz reincarnation of one such dueler tore it off. After a moment's hesitation he the thing on the floor beside him, even still unable to part with it least he should be caught without it by those who possessed the stuff of nightmares.

Yuto closed his eyes. He had had enough of hurting people. Yet, he would be forever unsure and untrusting that people had had enough of hurting him and those he cared about.

"Yuto?"

"It's alright," he replied to his friend.

And it was really alright, if one disregarded the terrors in his head and his current disgust for the manmade thing lying across from him. Another stack of manmade things weighed down the pocket of his pants, yet Yuto did not discard them as he had his duel disk. Instead he drifted a hand to cover the wet fabric above them imagining that he could feel the souls within moving restlessly in response to his own restlessness. Those cards he did not hate, he could never hate. Those cards he would never willingly discard like worthless trash or too dangerous goods.

After all, it had not been them but the disks that had brought the cards to the plain of reality. It had been the disks that had turned reality into cards, not the cards themselves. And these cards, these cards had saved him and his more times than he cared to count. He trusted in them as much as he trusted in Shun. Perhaps even more.

Yuto stretched his arms above his head and wriggled to find a more comfortable position than what his current thoroughly soaked state would allow. He wondered if his Standard counterpart was still sleeping, if all those in the Sakaki house were. He wondered if Yuya was suffering through a nightmare of his own – that thought sent a wave of guilt through Yuto for abandoning the red eyed boy – or if he were dreaming a good dream of dueltaining and smiles.

Yuto gave a maudlin smile of his own as a hundred more sinister grins flashed before his shuttered eyes.

Dueling to create smiles was harder than it looked when every instinct screamed at him that it was win or die with every card he drew.

"Yuto?"

It seemed that Shun, not yet fully emerged from the depths of sleep as he was, had grown concerned in the well of silence left by his young charge. There was a rustle of sheets somewhere beside him. A breath later and he felt a hand drop onto his head, patting it for a few bewildered moments.

"Why are you wet?" The awake half of Shun's voice did not sound pleased.

"It doesn't matter."

And suddenly two yellow eyes were glaring down at him from amidst the darkness. The rain outside continued to pound

"You didn't use an umbrella, did you?"

The question needed no answer. The older Kurosaki knew it well enough on his own. Still, Yuto felt obliged to reply at the very least to mount his own defence.

"I climbed out the window."

"They told you that you could use the door so long as you left a note," Shun said, exasperated. "You did leave a note this time, right?"

"Yes," Yuto swiftly shot back. "And I didn't want to risk waking anyone."

"So you climbed out the window in Yuya's room."

"Yuya sleeps like a log."

The yellow pair of eyes disappeared as a hand brushed over them in mild irritation, trying to rub away the Sandman's enchanted sand and deal with the issue at hand.

"There's clothes in the dresser."

It was Shun's way of telling his younger friend that he would not be doing a slumbering impression of a soaked chick that night. It was also Shun's way of indirectly stating that he would accept nothing less than complete compliance on this matter.

Yuto stretched once more then stood, slowly ambling his way through the dark made familiar by the number of nightmares and nights filled by unwanted thoughts that had sent him flying to this same room. Retrieving what felt like a pair of pants and a shirt from the dresser's middle draw, the Xyz dueler slowly pushed open the door.

"And next time use the door instead of the window to get in here," his friend called after him.

The grey eyed boy grinned to himself. Even half asleep the older Kurosaki still managed to order him around despite the fact that he would choose not to heed several of those orders in the likely future. Besides, the catch on the window would still be unlocked the next night and all the nights that followed. Shun knew his young charge too well and, like Yuto, he only ever slept in that state of repose a few shades below alertness, never delving into the depths of true slumber. If anyone bar Yuto climbed into the room through that window they would pay for it dearly.

Stepping fully out into the hallway that was as equally dark as the room, the drenched Xyz duelist wandered to where he knew the bathroom to be. There he dumped the dry clothes he had been carrying, clothes now spotted with water from where it had dripped off of him. Shutting the door, he carefully undid the limp scarf around his arm and placed it on the ground. He just as carefully removed his deck of cards, protected by a layer of waterproof material that formed a small sack, and too placed them on the floor.

The rest of his clothes were dropped unceremoniously in a sopping heap. First shoes, then socks, then jacket, shirt and pants, until he was standing in nothing but the wetness he had carried in from outside. Feeling around for a towel, hoping that it was not any of the girls' or Shuzo Hiragi's – he could live if it was his commanding good friend's – Yuto proceeded to dry himself. He had hesitated a moment in doing so, wondering of the merits of a good warm shower before dismissing it from his mind. He had already gotten as wet as he wanted to get for one night. Now he only wanted to collapse in a nest of blankets and brave an uninterrupted sleep.

The constant sound of the storm raging outside was strangely soothing to the fourteen year old boy as he pulled on the fresh clothes. The pants – pajama bottoms he discovered – were too long and the short sleeved shirt reeked a little of a certain bird's perspiration, but they were dry and warm. Like the rain, there was also some comfort in them, made less strange for the image of a trusted face with a yellow gaze that they conjured. He would be safe this night, at least from the terrors in reality if not the terrors in his own head.

Stepping over his wet garments and towel – he would fix them in the morning when he was less likely to disturb the Hiragi household with his activities given they would already by awake – Yuto scooped up the cloth he had set aside. He spent a minute wringing out the wet fabric of the scarf that so often adorned his arm. It would not do so further tonight, however, whilst it dried from its more than usual drenching.

Holding the limp cloth in one hand, he scooped up his deck with the other and limped silently back up the hallway and into Shun's room.

"Take the bed," his friend greeted him, now seemingly sitting up on said piece of furniture.

Yuto shook his head despite the fact the movement would go unseen in the gloom. "It's fine."

He needed no babying, simply to finish the sequence of familiar actions that had calmed his riled nerves. So the boy simply sat and drew his cards out of their wet bag. The latter he set aside to dry, keeping the cards safe on his knee. He then carefully laid his red monument to the wars on the ground, placing his deck just as carefully atop the still damp fabric. By his head they would both be close enough to grab if he had need of them whilst still far enough away that he would not wake to cards sticking to his face even if he moved about in his second sleep of that night. That done, he stretched back out along the ground directing his hands to massage his stiff limb.

"Are you sure you don't want to-"

"My leg will be fine, Shun," the grey eyed boy broke in softly. "Besides, your ribs are still healing too."

"Mm-hm."

If Yuto did not know better, he would have thought the older teenager was lapsing back into the throws of sleep.

Still, the older of the Kurosaki siblings had ceased his pursuit to switch sleeping places. There was a great deal of rustling as the seventeen year old went about what his grey eyed friend assumed was laying back down to his own rest. A minute later and the sound ceased, Shun seemingly having found a comfortable position once more.

With a small sigh the Xyz duelist laid his head back down on the pillow by Shun's bed and dragged the spare blanket over himself to ward off the cold. A few seconds later he was covered by his best friend's comforter.

"Shun…"

"I'll be fine," the raptor lover answered. "Besides, I wasn't the one stupid enough to walk through the rain without any protection and you don't need to catch a cold or the flu because you were."

And in Shun's voice there was still the fear of what such sickness could mean, fear of the grim sentence that it dished out when it grew worse, not better, in a city of rubble without proper medication to treat common aliments that were the precursors to deadlier ones. The war was over – they were not even in the ruins of Heartland, rather in the Standard Dimension with its cheery atmosphere and well maintained hospitals – but still the fear was there. And it was for that reason alone that Yuto protested no further.

Silence tentatively grew between the pair as one drifted slowly out of the last of his sleep and the other lay thinking about the twisted grins branded into his mind. The silence formed no rift between them, however, merely a wrap around each of their private thoughts much like a nest of blankets.

The glass in the window continued to shudder slightly beneath the still pounding rain. The pattering sound seeped into the room's silence like gentle waves crawling up a mound of sand, the lullaby the world had chosen to sing to sooth that single night. Into this gloomy tranquility the boy with the yellow gaze blinked, finally coherent enough to draw together in his head the words he needed to deal with the situation at hand.

"Was it a nightmare or that you couldn't get to sleep?"

"Nightmare," Yuto breathed in response.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Shun asked.

The grey eyed boy thought of the malicious smiles that had stormed towards the oblivious occupants of Heartland once again in his nightmare, of the same malicious smile he had caught himself wearing in the reflection of dream glass as he hunted down Ruri and Shun and Yuya and Yuzu one by one, of the duel disk that laid discarded but not forgotten by his side. He thought of the darkness that had consumed in dream and out of it not near long enough ago.

His old friend would listen, like he always did, regardless of how many of his own nightmares Yuto's words stirred. The seventeen year old would offer comfort, make promises if required, swear oaths to every god, both mythical and not, to alleviate the worries of his charge. But Yuto did not feel like talking. For at least a minute of the present night he did not want to relive his fears again whether they were dream or not.

Shuttering his eyes to the world in general, the Xyz duelist released a spiritually weary sigh into existence.

"Not tonight."

A hand descended from the dark above and ruffled his hair. It stayed there for a few moments, lending solace where it could from beneath its own dented armour. The boy whose head the hand lay atop exhaled in an almost contented manner. In that moment, what he was most grateful for was that just as Shun could listen to words, he also knew how to listen without them. In the same manner he could reassure in both silence and noise.

Soon the hand withdrew, sliding back beneath the blanket on the bed. The atypical chick on the floor too burrowed beneath his borrowed covers. As the quiet minutes ticked by only the rain could still be heard mingling with the breaths of the not quite sleeping. The Sandman's repose, in all its tired glory, had begun to settle back over the disturbed room.

It was the ghostly echo of a floorboard that did not creak where it should have that saw Yuto's grey eyes peer through the gloom once more. Another near soundless step and a subtle distinctive change to Shun's breathing, and his lids retreated back to being pressed lightly together. There was no danger in the approaching feet, only companionship once lost and greatly desired by both teenagers in the room.

The door was gently pushed open, allowing even more of night's darkness into the small room.

"Shun?"

"Don't step on Yuto," came the brotherly response to the softly asked question.

Yuto peeled his eyes halfway open to detect movement through the impenetrable gloom. As the telltale rustle of nightclothes glided over him onto the bed, the grey eyed boy raised one hand to brush against Ruri's leg. It was a gesture of comfort, of solidarity reassuring the girl that he was there and would protect her for as long as she needed even if it was only from the bad memories in her head.

Then the littlest Kurosaki pulled away, disappearing onto the bed with her brother. There was some shuffling as the two arranged themselves into a comfortable position that would allow her the sense of security in her older sibling's arms and not bump Shun's tender ribs too much. A second later and one slender hand of Ruri's dropped off the edge of the bed, falling just short of brushing Yuto's face. The grey eyed boy lifted one of his own hands to tangle it in hers completing the final human link that connected the three survivors together.

"Nightmare?" Shun asked the ear that laid by his face.

Yuto did not hear Ruri's response, but he tightened his tired grip slightly on her fingers all the same. Her feminine fingers pressed back as grateful as ever for the support he gave. If both of them were tinged a faint rose around the cheeks, Shun would not notice in the dark.

A gale of wind rattled the house, dropping the temperature in the room ever so slightly. The little nest of blankets that had been formed on the ground began to move as though preparing to answer some internal command that drove it.

"If you try and offer us that comforter back, Yuto, I'll kick your ass. My sister was smart enough to bring her own blanket and not walk unprotected through the pouring rain to get here. We won't freeze."

"You walked through the rain without an umbrella?" Ruri asked over the top of her elder brother.

Yuto opened his mouth to defend himself to her, but their ever hovering and ever worrying mother bird interrupted the conversation before it could begin.

"You can lecture him about it in the morning. Now go to sleep. Both of you."

Shun's two chicks obeyed, although had it been any lighter they would have traded amused glances with each other before doing so. Despite the irritated nature of the older Kurosaki's words, the younger two in the room could both make out the – to them – obvious relaxed pace of his speech as the Lancer's anxiety of being separated from his two charges dripped away in their presence. The irritation was more of a show than anything. Their unorthodox guardian was simply glad to have them back beneath his wings.

The rain continued to patter against the window to the room, the gale of wind blowing safely outside soothing the three huddling in their nest where it frightened so many other children. Eventually the consistent sounds lulled first Ruri and then Yuto to sleep, leaving the oldest of the three smiling softly at the two in the dark as he too finally allowed the Sandman to reclaim him.

When they woke again that morning it would be to Serena's dulcet tones as she cried "him again?" whilst steeling herself to drag two tired Kurosaki birds to breakfast. Yuto would merely respond he had answered to Shun activating the homing instinct in his 'chicks'. This would earn him an icy yellow glare and Shun a morning of torment and bird puns from Ruri's Fusion counterpart.

They would then join the others at breakfast with Shuzo running to answer the phone and reassure the Sakaki's that yes, Yuto was with him and yes, he would pass on their scolding for not leaving a note again and yes, he would remind Yuto to take an umbrella when he returned to their house. Said Xyz duelist would in turn sit silently through Ruri's own scolding of him for failing to bring an umbrella with him in the first place, trying and failing to cover his continuous sneezing. Then he would be forced to sit through the scolding of the other three girls whilst Shun looked on in glee, glad for once that he was not the focus of their negative attention.

After that they would see where the day would take them – perhaps outside to enjoy the rain or perhaps (more likely) back to Shun's bed where the three of them could create their own nest of blankets to hibernate in until the sun chose to smile once more.

But for now, in the embrace of night's respite with a comforting presence keeping away the terrors such respite could bring, they slept.

* * *

 **I hope that enjoyed this chapter and will enjoy the chapters to come (the next few are going to focus on the Xyz trio or part there of).**

 **I hoped that you enjoyed this and would be very grateful if you could leave a review. (Thanks to all those who have reviewed, favourited and/or followed this story so far! It is much appreciate!)**

 **If you have any suggestions or** **requests or ideas for this series (those that don't fit exactly may become a separate one shot), feel free to PM me or leave them in a review.**


	5. Something to trust in

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh Arc V or any of its plot, characters or related franchise.**

 **This one's based around Shun, Yoko and Shuzo (Sora makes a brief appearance if only to irritate mama bird; the 'chicks' also make an appearance). It's set a day or so after _'Something to change for'_. **

* * *

It was like a highly uncomfortable three-way standoff, yellow eyes glaring almost hostilely at the two others in the room. The falcon like gaze blinked never losing their harsh edge. Adverse, surly, unfriendly – at the very least, those eyes were untrusting of all save a select few who were decidedly absent. There was no shred of openness to what had just been said in them whatsoever.

Yoko sighed internally. This was not going as she had hoped. Indeed, it seemed like things were only diverging down a worse and worse path.

"It's not permanent," she tried again. "At least it doesn't have to be if you don't want it to be."

The yellow eyes narrowed further. To anyone who gave the scene a passing glance, they would have seen a winged predator who was as undoubtedly wary and ready to lash out as his wings had assuredly been temporarily clipped.

Silence pressed heavily on the room suffocating all within. Yoko shifted uncomfortably on the chair beside the oldest Kurosaki's bed.

"At least give it some thought," she all but sighed.

"I have." The words were as sharp as the glare in his eyes. "And I don't see why I should accept your offer."

"What?" Shuzo exclaimed. "Where else can you go? Back with Reiji Akaba?"

"Back to Heartland where we belong."

"Heartland is in ruins! You would have no proper shelter, no proper support. Two of you are injured and there are no proper hospitals functional, are there? Are you willing to risk that?"

Yoko refrained from letting her older, more violent side making known to one Shuzo Hiragi her displeasure at his lack of tact. As it was she sent him a sidelong glare that packed as much punch as her fist would have.

For a moment, the less than smile-focused feeling was placated as the oldest Kurosaki child lowered his head, almost with the same shame brought from a well earned chiding. It was the first reaction that maybe, just maybe they were finally breaking through with their argument.

Then the boy's face hardened and rose up once again, every bit the seasoned rebel and war veteran he was.

"We will survive like we always have."

And she was back with fighting the urge to 'borrow' Yuzu's infamous fan and beating her father half to death with it. Things had gotten worse. _Again._

It was frustrating trying to convince the seventeen year old boy that he and his charges would be better off, at least while they properly healed, in the safer and more secure location of Standard than a ruined dimension that had yet to be rebuilt. It was even more frustrating to convince said boy to accept the offer made by the Sakaki and Hiragi households respectively.

In the end, Yoko thought, it all came back to those untrusting yellow eyes.

As bad a connection as she felt it was to make, those eyes were exactly the eyes of a stray that had been left on the streets for too long. Such creatures were almost impossible to adopt simply because they refused to be adopted and made reliant upon another person against their will. Instead, they had to be the ones to do the adopting, slowly, frustratingly slowly coming to regain some small semblance of faith in the humanity that had kicked them to curb and over it into the mud filled gutter beyond.

It helped that Reiji Akaba and the Lancers had broken the icy barrier between complete mistrust and barely willing to turn his back on you least he should be stabbed in it when he's not looking. Perhaps they had managed more, would have had not Shun's two charges come back into the picture making it more than just about him. And once such a regal bird was bit, it was twice as shy and five times as vicious with strangers.

That had never stopped Yoko from trying.

"No doubts your skills to survive," she said. "I am sure that Ruri and Yuto can take care of themselves eherever they are and that you will make sure of it."

Shun shifted where he laid, settling his yellow stare upon the woman as his lips morphed themselves into that familiar thin line. "Yuto once jumped in a frozen pond to save a frog."

Yoko blinked. "Was it hurt?"

"No. It was completely fine, but _he_ almost caught pneumonia," Shun ground out. Evidently he had never forgiven the younger boy for the incident. It was unlikely that he would ever let his friend live it down either. "And Ruri fell off the roof twice trying to reach a bird's nest. And that was _before_ the war happened."

Yoko sat up a little straighter. If there was any time to listen… It went without saying (for a yellow glare indicated it well enough) that what would be said next would only be said once to her.

"They were both good at dueling, but I still taught them everything I knew, everything that could help. The others taught them too, I made sure of it. Wherever I could I made sure they were never alone. I swore they wouldn't be carded on my watch, that they wouldn't be hurt by those bastards. I swore on my _life_ that I wouldn't let it happen."

The oldest Kurosaki child shook his head in a self-deprecating manner. It was evident whom he blamed the most for the tirade that would follow almost immediately after.

"I did everything I could and Ruri was _still_ kidnapped by a pink-haired psychopath-" Yoko winced at that, her thoughts flying to Yuri and the offer she extended to him mere days before. "-And a traitorous bastard for a delusional madman. She's forced to spend months in isolated and worry without any means to defend herself or any friend to comfort her. God knows what those bastards put her through. _And_ _then_ she was mind controlled by some bloody parasite from the stuff of nightmares to fight and hurt her friends, her own brother. And Yuto-"

Shun gave a little laugh, a hollow and fractured thing that had Yoko shifting in discomfort and Shuzo tensing where he stood. The sound had been far from any happy sound that both adults wished to hear from such a young person. It was a sound that only veterans of the greatest suffering could make, whether it be spurred by war or heartbreak or simply their entire faith in the world being ripped mercilessly apart by the very same world.

"First my best friend experiences episodes of rage so that he can't remember and that are so unlike him he questions his own ability to help instead of hurt when he hears about them. Then his soul gets absorbed into your son after being severely injured in a duel that Reiji Akakba refused to allow me to interfere in. _Then_ , if that was not enough, he was forced to fuse with the others to form some impossible villain from the past." Shun paused, a hand running over his face and obscuring his anguished eyes from view. "And I couldn't do anything to stop it."

"You got them back," Yoko tried.

That received another laugh, this one bearing the kind of amusement that dripped venom and could kill a clown's optimistic naivety with the sharpness of its cynical nature.

"The only reason why Yuto is back is because of some inexplicable miracle," that despondent laughter said. "And as hard as it is for me to admit, without Kaito or Yuya or Reiji _Akaba-_ " No last name had ever been said with such hateful scorn, Yoko thought. "-I would never have gotten Ruri back either."

Yoko swallowed. She fought back the wetness in her eyes, a wetness that, whilst it would not be condemned by the one in front of her, would likewise not be wanted nor appreciated. If anything, she did not want to stir up resentful thoughts that questioned why she was crying when he himself was not, the one who had been through everything. After all, it was all too clear that those yellow eyes would not see sympathy but pity.

She wondered if any of the soldiers who had invaded the boy's homeland had ever felt pity for the ones they carded. Sympathy and sorrow would be too much to ask.

The blonde woman shifted on her seat. That any child had to suffer through such horrors, that her own son had experienced them first hand…

The woman shifted again. As much as it hurt to push away her concern for the time being, she knew that she could focus on Yuya later. As cracked as his time as a Lancer and being controlled by Zarc had been, he was now fine or somewhere on the way to fine as Yusho had reported despite her having seen for herself from each visit she made each day. Now her motherly instincts could be used to soften another who was decidedly less fine than her son in less physical ways than could be detected by any x-ray or cursory feel for injuries.

Yuya also did not have such untrusting eyes, another reason why she could push away her worry for him to a less conscious level even if it was for just a single moment.

Still, for all her pushing, it did not make it any easier to find the right words with which to break the suffocating silence that had descended upon them once more. She was grateful that Shuzo, however, had found the courage needed to speak for good or ill.

"You all survived and that is what is important," the man said. "All that hardship is in the past, which is where it belongs. You can only move forward now."

"Says a man who has never been forced to fight a war that eradicated his home," Shun replied.

Shuzo took the barbed comment in stride used to the smart tongues of fiery teenagers who thought that the entire world was against them and the teacher's advice beneath them. "Whatever trouble comes now, I am sure that you can all take care of it. Not only do you have more friends to fall back on, you are an exceptional duelist. Ruri and Yuto-"

"Do not need to suffer further."

" _Ruri and Yuto_ are also two of the best duelists I have seen," the Hiragi patriarch finished with a hint of irritation. "They can defend themselves, they _did_ defend themselves for a long time if what I've been told of the war in the Xyz Dimension is anything to go by. They survived were others didn't and I'd bet that was due in large part to their ability to duel as much as it was due to yours. They don't doubt your skills in dueling. Would you truly doubt theirs?"

And that, in Yoko's mind, should have been the victory blow that won them the argument. Yet it proved in the face of the world's cynical truth that it was anything but.

"As capable as they are, as much as I tried to ensure otherwise, they still suffered more than they should have," Shun said bluntly. "And all three of us learnt to survive in a bloody brutal war that had bastard soldiers cutting down people left and right, so to trust our lives to some adults who haven't even-"

"Now look here a minute," Shuzo cut in, his frustration now truly showing. "We might not be war veterans, but we can still pose a threat to anything that threatens our own. It is not only Yuya and Yusho who are brilliant duelists in the Sakaki family-" Yoko gave a nod of agreement. "And I run a school to create duelists such as yourself. It may be no LSD, but that doesn't mean I haven't turned out my fair share of duelists."

The man pointed a finger towards the general vicinity of the door, indicating children who were somewhere beyond it. Fire gleamed in his eye, the same fire Yoko knew stemmed from comments that the You Show Dueling school was pitiful, that the duelists it produced were somehow lesser in both skill and status. It was the same fire Yoko had seen each time a little Yuzu had run to him crying over an insult, each time a despondent Yuya had failed to smile in the face of bullies who did not know they were being watched. It was the same fire that had been present in the past too-long months whenever the man had suddenly stood and stormed for LSD Tower shouting that he did not care who he had to face or where he had to go, he was going to bring back his baby girl back home.

It was a fire that, beyond a doubt, Yoko knew could match the fire in Shun's own eyes.

"I've cared for my precious baby girl all my life. I nurtured her, raised her, protected her. I changed her diapers and kissed her boo-boos better more times than I can count," Shuzo continued. "More than that, I taught her to defend herself both with dueling and without it, so that even if she was taken from me I could be assured she would be alright. By God I was grateful that I did when she _was_ taken from me, and because of those skills – at least in part – she came back to me."

He stared the bedridden Kurosaki down. "Yes, she suffered, but now she is back. She survived. It is over and I will ensure nothing like that happens again. But I will also make sure that she still smiles. The same goes for Yuya. It's what a father does, what a parent does. And if anyone ever does try to harm either of them again…"

A black look descended upon the usually easy going man's face. The fire in his eyes burned brighter. Yet it was tainted by a more anguished shadow as well, one that drove Yoko to subtly squeeze her good friend's hand in comfort. Shuzo sent her a brief look that spoke volumes of his gratitude towards her, before turning back once more to the reason both adults were there.

"We may be no war veterans, but we are experienced parents," he said. "And in my experience, I never would have managed Yuzu alone like I did if I had not had the help of my friends. With no offence meant to you, you are not even an adult yourself and nor will you let anyone help you."

It was here that Yoko regained her voice, shifting forward in her seat and lowering her shoulders in an attempt to further equalize herself with the boy before her.

"You are hurt and so are they," she said gently as Shun glared at the wall across from him instead of meeting her eyes. "As you've pointed out, you have all just been fighting in a war. You need time to heal, to regain some semblance of normality and it would be better to do so in a stable, safe place rather than somewhere where you can't even sleep without having one eye open."

The blonde woman inhaled, feeling as though she were teetering on the edge of some precipice. She thought of her son, her precious boy who seemed haunted by everything he had seen. She thought of what it would have been like if he had of fought the reality of an inter-dimensional war even longer like so many other children had. She thought of those children who had been forced to fight, of Sora and Serena and Yuto and Ruri and Shun, Shun who trusted so little where he had lost too much.

A battered stray if she had ever seen one. And parentless too.

Inhaling once more, Yoko thought that if she could convince him to take refuge in the shelter of her home she could eventually convince him to accept the refuge of her arms either literally or figuratively or both. Strays had a better chance of lasting, after all, if they were adopted by someone who cared than if they were left to their own lonely devices.

"You have taken exceptional care of your sister and Yuto throughout everything that has happened," the woman pleaded. "Please, let us help you take care of them now that it is over."

Shun stared both adults down with his unnerving and uncompromising gaze. "You look after yours and I'll look after mine."

With those sharp words, he attempted to vacate both his bed and the room.

"Where are you going?" Shuzo cried in alarm as he leapt at the seventeen year old with Yoko to pin him back to the bed. It was no easy feat with what was essentially an escaping bird doing his uttermost best to break free from its captors.

Eventually they managed to push Shun back onto the hospital bed, trying to avoid the bandages around his ribs and arms and hands. The red scarf he had kept tied around his neck despite the hospital staff's protests rumpled uselessly against his skin in the scuffle. The two adults stepped back from the oldest Kurosaki child, perhaps panting a little more than they should have been.

"Please don't try that again," came Yoko's firm words.

"I need to see my sister and Yuto," Shun ground out, desperation masked by a simmering fury.

"You need to rest. You are hurt and running around won't help your ribs," Shuzo reiterated. "I should know having broken several once myself."

"I don't care. Let me up!"

"I'm sorry," Yoko said. "But we can't let you in good conscious."

"I almost lost them both – dammit, I _did_ lose Yuto – and you're telling me that I can't see either of them because a few ribs need to heal?"

At the incredulous tone Shuzo tensed, ready for another escape attempt. But, despite the mask of anger (and perhaps the mask was a mask that the boy would never take off willingly, much like the indigo and tattered trench coat that hung still over the end of his bed like a bad dream catcher), Shun's first attempt had exhausted his body enough for it to fail him the second time. Veteran of a war or not, there was only so much pain and abuse that a body could go through before all it crawled away to curl up in a corner and heal.

Unable to act on his desires, his needs, the oldest Kurosaki child sunk back into his hospital bed in graceless defeat. His face to the unobservant eye would appear blank, cold, shuttered to any and all who dared look upon it. Yet, Yoko could see how his mouth had turned down at the corners ever so slightly, how the deep frown on his forehead had lessened to a shallow sorrowful arc.

It was, perhaps, infinitely worse to see the fire be snuffed out of those young yellow eyes than to see such immense mistrust within them.

Yoko smiled kindly, gently as though she were approaching a significantly wounded bird that, for all its broken flapping and warning squawks, could not fly away. In such an instance she knew it was fear, not anger, that all too often drove a beak and talons to strike out even at the one who would otherwise be its saviour.

"I know that you don't trust us," she finally began drawing the disillusioned attention of the seventeen year old. "And I know that in your mind you have no reason to. That doesn't change our desire to help you, Ruri and Yuto. But without your trust, we can't. So what can we do to get you to trust us?"

"It's not just the lack of trust; you also want to separate us."

Yoko managed not to grimace. Of their entire offer, that had been the point both she and Shuzo (and Yusho when they discussed it as a three, with Reiji providing his own input) had figured would be the most heavily resisted. As such, it was the point they were most willing to compromise on.

"It only seems easier and fairer if we split it five and five," the blonde woman said. "Our houses are only so big and can only get so big with renovations. There is also less to worry about if the girls – and you – went together, whilst the boys were likewise grouped together. My husband and I have had more experience raising boys than girls. Shuzo, in turn, has had more experience raising girls than boys."

"And some of those who have my baby girl's face might be uncomfortable living in what is supposed to be a safe place with someone," Shuzo added. "Particularly someone they don't know very well, with their kidnapper's face."

"So you would put Yuto alone with two Fusion soldiers as well as the boy who killed him, whether intentionally or not, and the boy he died saving _while_ he is injured," Shun snapped.

"Sora and Yuri are _former_ Fusion soldiers," Yoko said tersely, the first traces of anger at Shun's consistent obstinacy in her voice. "And Yugo has not reason to attack him and neither does Yuya. Yusho and I are more than capable of handling any situation where Yuto might be endangered by any person, not just those four boys. There is no reason for you to doubt his safety under our care."

"If he were your son, would you put him in such a position?"

"You are not his parent," Yoko argued. It was as much a statement of fact and redirection from an uncomfortable truth as it was a plea that the teenager no longer had to be just that; a parent.

"But I'm the closest thing to a parent he's got!" Shun fired back with all the ferocity of his favoured raptors. "And the same goes for Ruri. I will _not_ place either of them in any more danger than I have too."

Silence fell suddenly and heavily after the oldest Kurosaki's last words. All adults in the room inhaled, even the one that bore the body of a seventeen year old and a mind of one that had been forced to mature far too quickly.

"It is only a suggestion," Yoko finally said once calmer. "No one is saying that anyone has to live with anyone for certain. The final arrangements can be made and adjusted-"

"If I agree."

Yellow eyes bore into her own green ones, every bit as defiant and closed off as they had been to begin with. Yoko was beginning to doubt, just a little, that they could ever truly lift the hostile guard that had been placed over them.

Then the room's door opened and a little light was added to those resistant eyes as well.

"Hello, brother," Ruri chirped as she flitted to her elder sibling's side.

"Ruri," Shun smiled softly, his yellow eyes now for his sister alone (if they darted around to the door that was left still swinging behind her and the corners of the room to check for non-existent threats beforehand, no one said anything about it).

The dark haired girl took up the hand her brother had offered, squeezing it gently, seeming to silently ask if he was okay. It was only when her brother squeezed his hand back that she shyly turned to the two others in the room.

"Hello," the girl managed.

Both Yoko and Shuzo smiled and returned her greeting with a nod of their heads. Ruri, in turn, allowed her small smile to grow a bit wider.

"I hope my brother is not giving you too much trouble," she said.

A small huff from the bed was evidence of how much the comment was unappreciated.

"Nothing we can't handle," Yoko grinned.

Shuzo gave a small chuckle. "Except keeping him attempting to leave against our advice-" If said attempted escape's hand was suddenly squeezed with more force than strictly necessary at that, neither sibling involved gave anything away. "-due to him worrying himself about you and that friend of yours."

If Ruri blushed minutely at his wording the man did not notice. Yoko, however, did and from the way Shun quirked one eyebrow the woman knew he had taken note as well.

"He always worries," the girl of note said. She turned to his brother with considering eyes, her rosey hue fading at the anxious shadow that still marred the elder Kurosaki's eyes. "I can get Yuto, if you want."

"Should he not be staying off his feet?"

"I could say the same for you, big brother." Ruri smiled warmly – and perhaps a little like she was scolding him too – and leaned in to kiss her sibling on his forehead. "I'll be back."

Shun stared after his younger sister as she flitted back to the door with all the grace and confidence of a small songbird. There she paused a moment, turning back with a sternly pointed finger at her brother.

"Stay."

Then she flew from the room in pursuit of her new goal.

Yoko grinned to herself. If Shuzo's mouthed and suspiciously teary eyed cry of "Yuzu" was anything to go by, he too saw the similarities between this girl's sternness and the pink haired girl they both knew far more intimately than any of her lookalikes.

Focusing back on the boy currently before her, Yoko's mind flew to another batch of similarities. Where it seemed the yellow eyed bird tended towards flying, she loved to ride. Yet both were steadfast in pursuit of any goal, especially if that goal was to ensure the safety of those that had managed to carve out a place in their hearts. They were caretakers, although in different ways – she doubted she would ever see Shun in an apron making pancakes. Then again, she had a feeling if his little sister begged hard enough…

She had no doubt that Shun could pull off a mothering role with a motherly apron, despite the hardline in him. After all, she herself possessed her own brand of hardness that in over the past years had been comfortably swathed in a nurturing blanket. At least until someone messed with her family. Then her hardness came out once more, albeit softer than it had once been, taking different paths to execute its goals rather than fighting.

She wondered if the seventeen year old who had been forced into the role of a parent far too young in a far too hell-like situation would ever change his own approach to protecting those he loved.

She wondered if the world would allow him that opportunity after all it had already put the small three-membered family through.

Suddenly Yoko was plagued by thoughts of Shuzo dancing around in an apron with 'World's Best Mum' on the front (it was a very realistic thought given Yuzu had brought her father said apron years ago and he still had not got rid of it, now worn and stained as it was) singing to the flocks of purple and grey birds around him as he attempted to catch them and stuff them in the pocket of his apron. The scene flickered to incorporate a giant hen-like fowl with blazing yellow eyes that every so often swooped the dancing man before retreating with two chicks in its talons to deposit in its secure nest. And all the while Shuzo sung horrendously off-key to the pink bundle situated on his shoulder.

Then he tripped over his own apron and face planted into the ground. The pink bundle – along with the dozens of purple and grey chicks still hovering around – all settled atop his groaning head and promptly fell asleep. The hen-like fowl from before was the last join the flock, spreading its wings over them as it glared at the groaning man below.

With that image permanently settling in her head, Yoko could not help herself. She laughed.

"What?"

The boy's voice was suspicious, but that did not deter the blonde woman in the slightest. Neither did Shuzo's raised eyebrows at her that spoke a little too much of the sudden doubts he was having about her sanity. Indeed, she could barely look at her friend's face without loosing the small semblance of control she had final wrestled for herself.

"You know, we are more like you than you think," Yoko said, smiling. "You are like a mother bird and they are your chicks. You'd do anything to protect them just like Shuzo would do anything to protect Yuzu and I to protect Yuya."

"A mother bird?" Shun asked with a raised eyebrow. A subtle glint in his yellow eyes, an almost comradeship with the two other guardians beside him, showed that he understood what had been said.

Yoko winked playfully all the same. "I thought the name would suit you. Ruri and Yuto really are like your chicks; you're certainly highly protective of them. I'm sure you also hover and coo over them like any proper mother bird, and would kick them out of the nest so they could learn to fly. Your sister also mentioned that you wanted to be a bird when you were younger when we talked earlier today." The blonde woman grinned further. "Besides, if they ever turned into eggs I can imagine you sitting on top of them like a proper brooding hen."

A poorly concealed snigger just outside the partly opened door drew everyone's attention and cut off Shuzo's own poorly concealed chuckles. It certainly drew attention away from the reddening face of a seventeen year old Kurosaki. It also drew his infamous ire accompanied by his carefully honed skills.

The muffled snickers morphed into a muffled yelp as Shun picked up one of the vases of flowers – a flashy bunch likely from Sawatari – aimed and pelted it through the gap in the door to the sweet loving boy lurking behind.

Yoko fought back the need to question the necessity of the action, telling herself that the satisfied and smug twitch of a certain seventeen year old boy's lips (a look that was exactly what every seventeen year old should be wearing, although on a certain some it was notably absent…) were more than reason enough.

A prickling sensation told her that yellow eyes had made her the center of their daunting focus once more. The woman stared back into the eyes of the elder Kurosaki child, noting with a tentative sense of hope that the mistrust in them had eased ever so slightly. It would not do to mess up their progress now.

Yoko's face straightened into a serious portrait. "Will you accept our offer?"

"I-"

"If it helps, Shun, Ruri and I are both happy to try out their proposed arrangement," a soft but strong voice broke in. Yuto tweaked a corner of his mouth up at his best friend from where he balanced on his best friend's little sister and a crutch just inside the doorway. "Your voice carries."

"So does Sora's cursing. What did you do to him, brother?" Ruri asked.

Said brother ignored her comment. "I don't like this."

There was a moment of concentrated silence as Ruri helped a heavily limping Yuto into the chair by Shun's bed. The grey eyed boy settled into as comfortable a position as he could manage, gingerly stretching out his notably bandaged leg with a wince. Yellow eyes analysed him critically the entire time.

"Should you even be out of bed yet?"

"Look me in the eye and tell me you haven't once tried to escape," Yuto shot back.

Yoko hid a shared smile with Shuzo. That was one challenge that Shun would prove unable to win. Her thought in turn proved true as the seventeen year old's yellow eyes turning to his sister a little _too_ soon.

"It's just temporary," Ruri said her face earnest and quite successfully hiding a grin at the subtle smugness of Yuto's own face at his victory.

Yoko inhaled, drawing Shun's attention back to her. She had not missed the way the seventeen year old had shifted ever so slightly closer to his friend and sister.

"Please," she said. "Give us the honour of being protectors to you and yours as well."

"Yes," Shuzo added. "We swear no harm will befall Yuto or your sister or you if you stay under our roofs and care."

"My parents made the same promise."

There was no need for Shun to elaborate on his cynical statement. That he was there, recovering in a hospital in the Standard Dimension, that both his charges were beside him in said hospital was proof enough that the promise had been more than broken. Indeed, his words had sobered the two youngest in the room from the brief intoxicating happiness they had indulged in. Still, the implication of those same words did not deter Shuzo from his path.

"Then let us at least try to keep it for them."

The Kurosaki before them turned away, the edges of his yellow eyes moistening for the briefest of seconds.

"Alright. Temporarily."

Perhaps his voice was more like a teenager's, open and raw and vulnerable. The undercurrent of hardness still gave his words an adamantine backbone that offered no compromise and would take no shit.

From the edge of her focus on Shun Yoko saw Ruri and Yuto exchange ghostly smiles. Yoko and Shuzo passed on their own happy thoughts silently to each other, although the latter was admittedly less subtle than the others in the room.

"Well, I am sure you three will be fine if we leave you to yourselves," Yoko said tugging on her good friend's arm.

Three pairs of maybe trusting eyes glanced her way. She smiled and tugged on Shuzo's arm harder.

The two adults left the room arm in arm, drawing on each other's cheer just as they had drawn on each other's support in the past years. For a moment Yoko leaned her head on her good friend's arm, listening to the voices of those they had left alone to their privacy. Shuzo too listened, a thoughtful and near contented look on his face as the sweet voice of his daughter's Xyz counterpart spoke.

"Did I mention that we passed a certain somebody in the hall? They mentioned something about you calling you a-"

The rest of that sentence was filled with a very explicit variation of the motherly nickname Yoko had given one Shun Kurosaki. Indeed, the version was enough to make even Shuzo blush a deep red as he hastily leaned away from the door with his close friend. Their departure, however, was just slow enough to catch a few more fragments of the devolving conversation at hand.

 _"RURI!"_

"Just telling you what I heard, big brother."

At that the other Kurosaki demonstrated his own spectacular skill in cursing, specifically a certain blue-haired boy.

"I see you are a great example for your sister, Shun," a deliberately monotone voice cut through.

Yoko could almost feel a blazing yellow gaze turning to face a cool grey one. Her involuntary smile grew wider at the thought.

"Come on," she said as she looped her arm more thoroughly through a still spluttering Shuzo's and truly stepped away from the door they had just exited. "Let's go and find Yuzu."

"How- Why could- Why would she curse like that? My baby girl wouldn't curse like that! It's…it's… MY SWEET BABY GIRL!"

Yoko patted the shocked man on the arm. "She's not Yuzu. They are different people, you know that. I'm sure that your sweet baby girl is just as innocent as ever."

"But…but…" Shuzo stuttered.

From the room they were swiftly leaving behind them a chorus of laughter drifted into the hallway, tentative, perhaps a tad hysterical, but genuine nevertheless. Yoko's smile turned grim at the corners. She knew without a doubt that had she still been present that laughter would not have come.

The blonde woman closed her eyes. It was just like any other stray she had brought into her home. Given enough time she would have the honour to witness that laughter firsthand. Until then she just had to ensure they knew exactly who it was they could trust.

* * *

 **Personally, I don't think Shun would have been on board (if ever) with the whole 'living in the Sakaki/Hiragi' house thing. As I was writing it, I also realised this would be in part due the fact that Yuto was separated and with two former Fusion solders (both of whom Shun/Ruri have had bad experiences with) - I figure Shun's only really comfortable with Serena (I'll explore that relationship in another chapter) - as well as Yugo who killed him, even if not intentionally and Yuto would not have died had he not taken the blow for Yuya. Makes sense to split them 5 and 5 (even out the odds), and boys and girls (with Shun) to avoid any unwanted trouble. Also, the girls would not like Yuri - be wary of him - and Rin and Serena at least would not have known Yuto (not if Yuto only came back body wise after the duel with Zarc). Likewise, Ruri would be a bit wary of Yuya and Yugo - people who possess Yuri's face, but that she does not know. Anyway, that is why Shuzo argues on separating them. ;) In any case, I figured Shun would be opposed, but grudgingly grow to trust the adults, although would forever want to return to Heartland.**

 **With Yuto in the Sakaki household, I think that in the way I've split them, that would have ended up mostly his decision (Shun would have less say over him given Yuto is not technically his little brother) given he would want to watch Yuya in case Yuri (or Sora) reverted back to their old ways (or Yugo goes beserk again and kills him). Still, Shun is the most securest point for Yuto and Shun would want him under his watch if anything went bad, which is why Yuto kind of lives in both/neither house (protecting Yuya, but seeking Shun out). Anyway... Justification for the way they are split in this story.**

 **As to why Shun could be perceived as a little more open about his concerns/experiences in this one (for him), I figured that pain + medication + intense worry/anxiety = Shun revealing more than he likely would have under normal circumstances. Plus the fact he can a) relate to Yoko and Yusho due to his intense care for his two chicks (like their love for their children) and b) they both want to, at least temporarily, take one of his chicks under their wings. So that last one would bring in a bit of anger as well as further anxiety that he might loose them given he's not 100% yet. Also, I figured he needed someone to vent to about this and Yoko makes for a good listener (and so does Shuzo, I think). :)**

 **I have the characters in this refer to Shun as the mother bird of Ruri and Yuto – his two 'chicks' – a lot (as you will see). I kind of made it out in my head that Yoko was the one who started it (with Sora overhearing or otherwise finding out, which lead to everyone else kind of thinking it too even if they don't say it out loud - this latter part I might cover properly in another chapter if I can get another idea to go with it).**

 **In any case, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I've got a bunch of ideas for following chapters (although some suggestions for Sora or Yuri would be good, as I'm lacking in that department) which I also hope you will enjoy. Likewise, I hope you will leave a review for this chapter (and the ones to come).**


	6. Something to make bloom

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh Arc V or any of its plot, characters or related franchise.**

 **Finally finished this** **chapter!**

 **This one revolves around Ruri and Yuto with Yoko and mama bird (of course). En and Core also make an appearance. References to 'Red Scarves…' in this one - so takes place a short while after.**

* * *

Yuto scuffed his foot against the floor, a small movement he was not entirely conscious of. It was a testimony to just how much he trusted the place he was in, how much he trusted the person before him that he had relaxed to allow any unconscious movement to emerge.

"There is nothing to worry about. Maiami City is safe and the park is close to the shops I want to visit. You also have a phone. If you need me I will be there."

The fourteen year old shook his head. "Shun won't like it."

"You'll both have a great time," the woman across from him continued as she had when the proposal had first been made, cheery, bold and unwilling to take a simple 'no' for an answer.

"But-"

"I'll take care of Shun. After all, a woman shouldn't be expected to carry all of her shopping, should she?" Yoko smiled down at the grey eyed boy. "Besides, I think your mother bird won't mind too much. He's got to accept that the two of you can protect yourselves and go off on your own together one day."

If there was some underlying meaning to the woman's words, Yuto only half realised. In fact, as a slight rosy tinge that was becoming o so familiar each time he saw Ruri bloomed across his cheeks, the Xyz duelist was certain that he was interpreting the last sentence wrong. In any case, he knew for a fact that Shun would rather die than let his little sister (or him for that matter, as annoying as it was) out from under his protective wing for more than a very short day willingly or otherwise. His older friend still had a long way to go despite his post-war development in that area already.

(How often had he been grateful that his friend was so overbearingly protective during his days as a Resistance member? How many times had, when the yellowed eyed teenager stuck perhaps a little too close on their expeditions into the ruins of their homeland, that closeness been the only thing that kept Yuto from being injured or squashed or carded? How much had it hurt, in those last few seconds when he had died in Yuya's arms, realising that Shun would not be coming to save him once again? How much had it hurt Shun? And how much guilt could Yuto feel knowing that his friend's anxiousness now was caused by a too ingrained need to watch over his young charges of which included him? The simple answer was a lot.)

It also did not help that Shun was vehemently opposed to any _interest_ shown to his little sister. At least that was Yuto's well founded assumption given that it had taken both Serena's merciless fist and Sora's merciless insults to get the seventeen year old to stop burning a hole through the head of the then distinctly uncomfortable and no small bit intimidated boy sitting across from Ruri in the movie theatre not a week ago. And all the boy had done was say he liked the youngest Kurosaki's hair.

Yuto had no doubt that Shun would kill him if his friend ever caught him staring a little too long at Ruri when she smiled. To even consider Yoko's suggestion that he spend some one-on-one time _alone and un-chaperoned_ with the girl in Maiami City…

"He loves you just as much as Ruri. He won't do anything to you if you go off together," the blonde woman said perhaps too optimistically to the Phantom Knight user's thinking. "And he trusts you."

Yuto pulled at the red cloth he had, today, looped about his neck with the two end lengths dangling down his black clad chest. For it to just be Ruri and himself…

 _But Shun._

 _But Ruri…_

And Yuto discovered yet another problem with the Sakaki matriarch's plan. If simply thinking about the younger Kurosaki's eyes smiling at him (for him, _because_ of him) had him three shades from blushing a little too much like a rose, than being alone with her experiencing the simple pleasure of a world not reduced to the most unromantic rubble would turn him into a bumbling fool.

Or perhaps he had too little faith in himself. It would not be a date, after all, and it would be far from the first time he had spent alone with her in the Standard Dimension.

…But it would be their first time alone together outside of hospital and LSD Towers and two homes so giving that it sometimes made his heart hurt that there were still good people at all.

The Xyz duelist bit the inside of his lip.

"Besides, I would also like you to take En for a walk in the park while I'm shopping," Yoko said. "He has been good this last week and he really enjoys your company in particular. It will be a treat for him."

Or, if Yuto read between the lines of the woman's words, it was firstly a means to further coerce him to accept her suggestion for he always helped when she asked, ever grateful to the Sakaki's for giving him place of security to stay in their innate and infinite kindness, ever guilty for never being able to fully extend the same back to them. Secondly – at least he was somewhat certain it was so – it was a less than subtle punishment for his recent guilt inducing escapades where he had failed to leave a note of his change in nightly roosts once more. There was a reason that he did not volunteer to help with the animals in the Sakaki household. There was an _especially_ good reason why he attempted (and failed) to avoid the tiny monstrosity called En most of all.

Yuto swallowed.

Yoko smiled at him, her eyes softening the slightest fraction. "It will be fine, you'll see."

'You'll see' not 'I promise' because 'I promise' was what Ruri had told him and what he had told Shun and Shun had once told Ruri. Different promises made at different times, but broken all the same. One could attempt to recover a promise, do everything in their power to fix it, but they would never succeed. Once broken a promise stayed broken for they were infinitely fragile things like an egg. All one could do then was to make more promises to be broken.

People were mere cogs in the machines that drove the universe, hard and cold machines that stopped for no amount of promises – Yuto knew that first hand. Safety did not last. Security did not last. Strength did not last. Reassurance never existed, only denial and ignorance to the two truths of reality:

Everything ended eventually. Everything eventually broke.

The grey eyed boy looked at the blonde woman who had taken him in. If he were to say 'no' now he had a feeling that this time the word would be respected and he would be left alone. Yet, and yet this woman was still smiling encouragingly at him always cheerful and infinitely kind.

It reminded him of Ruri.

Yuto gnawed at the inside of his lip once more as a familiar warmth encased his thoughts, muffling their more cynical edges. Broken or not, hope was still there filling the cracks. Ruri had taught him that. Yuya had reminded him of it.

He wanted to make the littlest Kurosaki bird smile like Yoko was smiling.

It was a simple thought with a simple, steadfast motivation and he was not quite sure why he had thought it. Still, he had thought it and he would act on it. Not a promise as such, but a hope, one that outshone his other worries.

"Alright," the boy conceded, a strange thrill sending a tingling down the length of his spine at the thought of what he was agreeing to.

Yoko all but clapped her hands together in joy. "We'll stop by Shuzo's house on the way and ask them then, if you are okay with it."

"Okay."

"Alright." Another of those brilliant Sakaki smiles was flashed his way. "Why don't you get some shoes? I'll put En on his leash and wait for you by the front door."

The woman strode off, resolutely calling for the smallest – and, in Yuto's opinion, the most annoying – dog she had saved from the fate of the streets. Yuto, meanwhile, stood in place a moment longer as he quietly remembered how to breath. He inhaled, exhaled, and found that breathing was good for it dulled the tingling of his nerves.

Alone together in a city that was not reduced to dusty rubble. How much had they changed since the last time that had happened? How willing was life to give them a second chance, to give _him_ a third on top of his already 'second chance' life? How could he stop the increasing sweatiness of his hands?

Inhaling once more, the Xyz user forced himself to move (and how strange it was to be forcing himself to move from being incapacitated by something other than fear, at least the fear he had grown used to in that time spent desperately avoiding death at every turn, at every card). Shoes were what he needed. Good shoes if his experience with En was anything to go by, good, thick shoes.

The boy stumbled slightly as Core wove herself between his legs from where she had suddenly appeared. He carefully used a foot to slide the offending feline away from him being as much a non-cat person as he was a non-animal person in general. This did not deter the feline from following him as he knew it would not and in a rare moment Yuto found himself wishing that Yuri were somewhere about. At the very least his Fusion counterpart was good for attracting Core's unwanted attention. For some reason the cat adored the former Fusion soldier.

Yet another reason why Yuto was most definitely not a cat person.

Merely walking the few remaining steps into the room he had been returning to when Yoko had caught him, the grey eyed boy placed himself in front of the corner where he had compiled most of his stuff. Yuya had protested this arrangement many a time, repeatedly offering to help his Xyz lookalike spread his possessions further around the room. As kind a gesture as it was (he expected nothing less from Yuya), Yuto did not see the point. Eventually he would return to his true home or what was left of it, preferably sooner rather than later. They had to help rebuild, recover, heal the city's cracked foundations from what had happened. It was not theirs to simply fight and leave the damage be.

The ghostly twinge in his bad leg reminded Yuto why they had chosen to linger in the Standard world.

It was a pair of solid soled canvas shoes that the boy slipped onto his feet just below the rolled up cuffs of his jeans. His feet had already been clad in socks (he did not understand how that Reiji Akaba could willingly go around without) so it was only a few short minutes before the Phantom Knight user near teleported to the front door.

Several seconds later a small furry bundle of En collided happily into his legs nearly unbalancing him. Yuto was not amused even as the little dog barked excitedly.

"Come here and get your leash on," Yoko commanded in a fond tone.

En obeyed with a lolling pink tongue.

It did not take long for the chest harness to be placed on the surprisingly obedient dog nor the leash to be clipping in place of said dog's back. It took an even shorter time for Yoko to hand the leash over to Yuto. A millisecond later and the grey eyed boy found himself cursing silently as his legs were tied together. This was not the first time he would have walked a dog and he did not doubt it would be just as enjoyable as the others.

"If you keep him on a shorter leash he won't do that as often," Yoko laughed.

Yuto merely simmered quietly and forced En to circle in the opposite direction the canine had first come, freeing his legs once more. A deliberate lack of mobility was another thing he had come to dislike during the war. It had meant a lot of things, none of them good and the worst being the complete betrayal of his body after it had so easily pushed a more innocent soul to safety.

Then another, more mundane fear rose like a phantom from where it had been abandoned in his memories preceding the invasion.

What if En made him look like an idiot in front of Ruri?

The confident smile that Yoko flashed Yuto as she gestured through the now open front door did not instill any further confidence in himself or the animal now pulling its way towards freedom.

What if _he_ made himself look like an idiot? He was not Yuya or Yugo. If he were to be the cause of Ruri's chirping tune to turn to one of anger, or worse, disappointment…

"Coming?"

En barked and pulled Yuto through door, obeying his mistress' voice even as it coaxed Yuto from his thoughts. The grey eyed boy blinked and followed the blonde woman out of the house. He inhaled and steadied his suddenly jumping nerves.

Soon enough they would reach the Hiragi household. Soon enough he would be facing her with the threshold of a door and a big brother between them. Soon enough they would commence their arguments to said big brother to leave his side once more, even if only for a brief while. Soon enough he would be alone with the little songbird who had kept him hoping through it all.

Soon enough he would know whether this really was a good idea or not.

Soon enough (and nowhere near it when dragging along an inquisitive and stubborn dog on a mission to mark everything over two feet off the ground) they were turning into a street lined with shops for food and clothes and odds and ends with two Kurosaki birds in tow. The park could be seen across the other side of the road, a decently vast green expanse amidst a whole lot of concrete.

One of the things Yuto had missed during the war was green such as was in the park. He had seen green during his first visit to Standard, but had not had the time to enjoy it. Even now, after it all and with the frequent walks made by a trio of comrades and friends and Ruri he still had not had his fill of that luscious, _living_ green.

Suddenly he felt as though he were En, straining against a leash so he could dash across the road and roll in all the grass he could find. It was not an easy urge to quell, but he managed to all the same. The roaring of impatient cars helped. So too did the fact that he could not bear the sight of a squashed pile of fur on the tarmac or the anguish of kind faces that would accompany it.

With that thought, the teenager tightened his hold on En's leash.

(It was not that he avoided talking about having been dead; with a deck made of phantoms Yuto held no fear of the subject. He had come back, somehow, even if he feared that it was had been to do with that infernal demon inside him. Yet dying was something else… And he could not leave them again, break his promise to them again, to _her_ again. But the grey eyed boy's greatest fear lay not in dying, but in that he knew the truth that rounded reality's harsh edge; one could not be dead and expect no one else would ever die.)

The wing of a predator brushed past him, proud and strong and safe. The ragged and beloved trench coat was gone, but the presence it had proclaimed was not. Shun tweaked his lips down at Yuto reassuring the younger boy even if he did not know what the latter's current despondent thoughts were. Yuto in turn blinked his thanks to his friend. There were distinct advantages of not needing to limit the ineffable to words in order to communicate and not all of them were related to surviving a warzone.

"Well, I need to get some groceries and several new shirts," Yoko mused as she stared down the street. "I also wanted to look in the book shop for a novel Yuya has been wanting to try. Hmmm… Do you want to take En for a walk Yuto? I might be a while and it'll be quicker that way. En's not the patient type and he'll just cause trouble while I'm browsing."

Yuto knew exactly what game the blonde woman was playing and commended her for it. He also winced internally, knowing exactly what would be coming.

"I don't think anyone should go off alone," Shun said with a frown.

And the battle of wills between two mother birds was on.

Yoko gave her own slight frown. "Maiami City is safe and Yuto will have En with him."

"Hmm."

What the tallest Kurosaki did not say aloud as he stubbornly crossed his arms was that it was a strange city even after a month and the time previously spent pursuing LSD students. It was a strange city where Yuto had died without Shun there to help him. _Alone._ That was more than enough to make it unacceptable to a young war veteran and guardian to allow his charges to wander off.

But Yuto knew the game his temporary hostess was playing, knew that she had planned for it like his best friend planned for every possible move that could be made against him in a duel.

"If you are concerned about him being alone then Ruri can go with him."

The youngest two looked at each other, one with raised eyebrows and the other a shrug of his shoulders. Neither said anything, they felt no need to. Shun was the one they trusted most in the judgment of their safety and neither of the fourteen year olds wanted to make their primary caretaker any more anxious than necessary. They could have stepped in, asserted themselves and their ability to look after themselves, but over shopping?

Besides, alone together…

A slight tint of rose had stumbled across Yuto's cheeks and, seemingly, Ruri's own lighter shaded ones.

The reaction that the oldest of the Xyz trio had to Yoko's words was different. His frown had deepened even if a brief glimmer of understanding of the motives of certain blonde parties shot across his face. The seventeen year old did not outright say 'no' but it was present in just as forceful a manner in his blazing yellow glare.

"Come on. I need you to help carry my shopping and Yuto needs to walk En." Yoko knew just how to reassure the older Kurosaki's worries to benefit the three teenagers currently under her motherly care. So she dropped her voice so only a yellow eyed falcon could hear. "Do you not trust me? Trust them? They will be fine."

The look on Shun's face told her that maybe, just maybe he trusted her even if he did not fully believe.

The seventeen year old turned to his two charges. "Alright. Fine. You can go. _But_ only around this street and the park – we'll meet you on the walkway over the park. No wandering off. _And stay together._ "

As if the last part needed to be said. They had all promised to never part again, an unspoken oath that embodied their love for each other as well as their desire to believe that everything would now be alright. If no one ever mentioned that even one of them could be taken once again, that at the end of it all they would most certainly be taken just as Yuto had been taken before, it hung of the edges of their minds regardless only making their love and believe that much stronger.

No, the two youths would stay together least they should be pulled apart once more.

A trusted hand clasped Yuto's shoulder as another did the same for Ruri, a falcon's way to reassure himself that his chicks could fly and still return to him safe and whole.

"Keep your decks with you," came Shun's murmured words, too soft for Yoko to hear.

Yuto felt the weight of his deck dragging the pockets of his pants down. He wondered if either his two Kurosaki friends felt the same stone, gravestone almost, weight in their pockets.

 _Stupid question. Of course they do._

En barked and tugged on his leash. The roar of cars was as loud as ever.

"And only cross at the crossings."

Behind the trio Yoko shook her head and hid a fond smile.

Ruri drifted closer to her brother. Her lips moved first into the shape of 'You really are a giant mother bird' before morphing into a teasing laugh at her elder's detriment. Yuto simply kept his head straight and eyes on the people walking past. His face remained decisively stoic. He refused to create any reason – real or not – for Shun to swoop upon him like the highly protective big brother he was.

En licked the strip of tanned flesh exposed between a pants hem and curve of a standard shoe with a cold and sloppy tongue. Yuto's stoic face grimaced. Still, little annoying dogs aside, the boy was beginning to admit that he was truly excited to simply spend some time with Ruri. Indeed, the budding thrum that had settled itself deep within him – deep enough to have reached the same depths as Zarc had in his infinite monstrosity, but so thankfully far, far different; burning cold and gentle warmth were complete opposites after all – when his best friend and Ruri had greeted them at the door of the Hiragi residence had now truly settled into a shy anticipation.

That sensation grew even further as the songbird fluttering around the Phantom Knight user's mind fluttered close by his ear in reality.

"Come on. Let's go before my brother changes his mind," Ruri murmured with a fond smile simultaneously directed at seemingly no one and yet at both a falcon and phantom.

Yuto swore to do his uttermost to keep that smile in place for the rest of the day. She deserved nothing less, after all.

The grey eyed boy allowed himself to be tugged along by Ruri's mere warming presence, turning his head to nod a farewell to Yoko and Shun.

 _It will not be permanent this time_ , Yuto told himself as he did each time he bid his best friend goodbye in the past month, an echo of when they had last parted from each other in Standard dressed in raggedy clothes and supporting a drive to take back the one stolen from them. _This time I will make sure of it._

Yellow eyes burning their gaze into the back of his black haired head informed the Xyz user that his friend was silently making the same request of him in their potent, soundless concern. That request only strengthened Yuto's resolve further. He owed it to Shun to keep both Ruri and himself safe. After all, how often had the older Kurosaki been the one keeping him safe? Often enough to be worth the hurt of another broken promise.

En pulled to the right in an attempt to investigate an alleyway that had cleaved itself between two shops. With a small grunt, the boy holding his leash forced the little dog back on course towards the crossing that would lead to the green that Yuto longed for.

A humming floated to him across the air ahead, likely as unconscious of its life as it was sweet in sound. Up and down the notes rang, up and down, up and down. It was a common melody to a common childish song that the Xyz duelist had long since forgotten the words too. _Something about birds and wishes…_ Shun had sung it to them both on that first terrible night when fear had conquered exhaustion.

It was the last time that Yuto remembered his friend singing. (Or perhaps it was not. On the edges of his mind lurked a hazy thought – not quite as much a memory as a dream – of a familiar presence singing through his delirium and the surrounding despair. Yet the delirious boy had not heard the elder bird sing since that first night, and so he had convinced himself it was just a dream. Better a dream than to think the one who sought to emulate the strength of stone had cracked his voice in such anguish.)

The grey eyed youth contemplated the girl gliding along just in front of him for a moment. The familiar red scarf looped around her shoulders fluttered behind her like a pair of cloth wings as the day's mediocre breeze blew past them. The young Kurosaki's long hair fluttered too from where it escaped the bonds of her treasured feather shaped clip. Both gave away the truth that she was a songbird at heart whose place it was to fly free in open space whilst filling meadows with wondrous sound. It only made sense that Ruri would be drawn to the park's open space too, more so than ghostly knights whose fate it was in stories to haunt desolate, battle-wrecked plains.

Ruri continued humming as she walked briskly along, not so much dodging the people in her path as they dodged her. The young girl's eyes seemed locked on the park never once looking back to see if Yuto was following. There was no need. Through peace or war or enemy lines he would follow her until his end and, even then, still not rest. It was _that_ which had finally called him back when the monster who had been split to make him had reformed itself back into a single, destructive whole.

 _"Yuto."_

 _The voice was quiet. It did not shout like the others, contained no swearing like the angry voice hued in blues and reds and guilt for past wrongs and love for new friends. It was not a desperate green or pleading pink. It was quiet and strong; perhaps that was why it cut through the other voices shouting about them- him- them- Zarc-_

 _(I will destroy you all!)_

 _"Yuto."_

 _Or perhaps it was in his head. Had not something happened to Ruri? Something bad? Was she there or somewhere else or nowhere else at all? Was he there? Did he even exist? Had he ever? Yes, yes he had. He was them- No,_ Him _\- No…_

 _(You think that you can defeat me? Ha! Well? I'm waiting.)_

 _"Yuto."_

 _A voice, like a song, like a promise… What had he promised? Something, he knew that much. Now it was shattered, broken, irreparable, but it had been something. Something to someone…_

 _Yuya…_

 _The name was familiar, but wrong. The eyes were wrong too, but the red was right. Why did he know the red was right? Why did red matter? Where was Yuya? Where was he? Who was he?_

 _Something red was important. But what? Who? Who had he promised something red to?_

 _(That's your first move? Pathetic.)_

 _"Yuto."_

 _"Please!"_

 _Another voice finally broke through with the first, no less songlike, no less strangely familiar, begging, begging him… This was wrong. Something was wrong. He was dead, wasn't he? He could remember the pain of dying, but whose pain was it? Where was he? He didn't want to be dead, but_ He _didn't either. Yet, somebody had to be. There was no other way. No other way…_

 _"Yuto…"_

 _(I win! Now you will know the true extent of my power!)_

"I think it's alright to cross here."

The young Kurosaki's voice summoned Yuto out of his head and back into the physical world before him. He watched as Ruri pressed the button on the set of traffic lights that would eventually allow them to cross the road safely. If either felt a disembodied yellow stare on the back of their necks they said nothing. Neither did the boy or girl take an audible note of just why the boy's hands had begun to shake ever so slightly.

Ruri pressed one hand into Yuto's free one. She squeezed her reassurance and he squeezed his gratitude back. En barked at a speeding car.

Then the little red man turned green and the trio walked through the crossing to the path that arced up and slightly over the park.

Phantom and songbird, through an unspoken agreement, stepped off the path together and onto the springy grass. Their hands remained entwined as though it were the most natural thing in the world and, like all natural things, it took no effort for the universe to simply make a place for it in being.

For a while they just walked, Yuto tugging every so often on his canine charge's leash to reign in En from terrorizing the birds around them (the fourteen year old hated it when animals were hurt; even more so when they were birds). There was no awkward silence between the two humans; for two so close no such thing could exist. Instead it was a silence of nothingness, just two teenagers taking in the beauty of the green around them in a way most people could not.

They watched a tree loose its leaf, shaken free by the breeze and then carried gently as a feather to the ground below. They watched ripples in the pond expand further and further from where a child had thrown a stone, further and further from that initial turbulent place until the watery rings expanded into nothingness. They watched the clouds dance about for the sun that oversaw them. They watched the white fluff of several dandelions lift themselves with the wind and fly. They watched warily, but with interest the people about them, noting every jovial interaction that occurred from wee children showing parents the more normal of things to the slow movements of the content in the last wee years of their life.

At one point the serene peace was broken by an elderly pair, obviously deeply in love with each other where they sat upon a worn park bench.

"Ah, young love," the woman had sighed as Yuto and Ruri had moved passed still holding hands. Her husband simply patted the woman's hand in fond agreement.

Another moment caught Ruri staring up at frolicking birds in the sky with vibrantly coloured feathers whilst Yuto stared down at the ground. They had stopped for a moment to bear witness to the antics of the airborne creatures at Ruri's insistence. The animals had quickly lost Yuto's interest, but what their swooping and flapping had caused to fall had quickly sparked it once more. Now the grey eyed boy was searching for a feather worthy of gracing the hair of the girl beside him.

It was a deep blue and black hued feather that finally grabbed the teenager's attention. Releasing Ruri's hand at last, Yuto bent to pick it up and promptly got a wet tongue slopping across his face. He straightened hastily and glared down at En. Then he turned, took a breath and carefully tucked the feather into the clip that held the younger Kurosaki's hair together without giving himself a chance for a second thought.

Yuto's breath caught in his chest as the girl turned to look at him questioningly.

"You like birds and I thought that it would suit you," he managed to mumble into the air.

Ruri tilted an eyebrow in that same fondly amused manner that her brother had. (How often had she spent mimicking the motion when the two siblings were younger?) Feeling around the back of her head, she pulled the newest accessory adorning it free. Twirling the feather between her fingers, she appraised it with a thoughtful crease between her eyes.

"It's coloured like your Phantom Knights," she said before smiling. "Thank you."

Then she slipped it back into place and turned back to see the last of the birds soar away to another part of the city.

Yuto breathed once more as the static that had engulfed the air faded back down to a manageable continuous glow.

The grey eyed boy knew exactly what laid un-mined between the two of them. Obliviousness had been one luxury unaffordable in a barely surviving warzone (for all wars needed two or more sides to wage on). Forced closeness had only served to hone in Yuto's perceptiveness of Ruri – and her of him – leaving that pit so many chose willingly (and unwillingly) to fall into clearly visible. And yet…

And yet it was visible only in the peripheral gaze of the boy and girl, both too distracted by need to spare any time gazing at it. There were always enemies about, always supplies needing scavenging, always wounds to be healed and friends needing mourning. Now there was nothing. There were no distractions at all save En and, as near unmanageable as the little dog was, En was not much of a distraction at all.

"Argh!"

Yuto almost plunged face first into the ground as said distraction suddenly took off. A few moments later and he had regained his stumbling steps, pulling on the dog's leash to halt his furry charge. The damage had already been done, however, and the boy could feel his cheeks glowing a scarlet red. This was why he avoided interacting with animals whatever Shun said about his fatal flaw being his tendency to play saviour to anything that breathed.

Ruri was laughing though, smiling in a way that was more carefree than everything she had been through had made it.

Yuto stood and adjusted the cloth looped about his neck. Smiling was good. Laughing was better. Both helped him to keep the oath he had sworn before, even if they had come at his own expense.

En barked at a bird that had suddenly descended before him and lunged forward once more. The one holding his leash barely managed to stay afoot.

"Maybe I should take him for a while," Ruri chuckled as her battered knight muttered a less than noble curse.

"I-"

"We're almost around the park anyway," the girl continued with her gentle, steadfast cheer. "I haven't seen my brother or Yoko at the meeting place so we could have time to go up the street and browse in a few shop windows. Then we could come back here?"

The incline in pitch at the end of her sentence was the cue for Yuto to input his own thoughts and either accept or refuse Ruri's suggestion. The boy looked between En's lolling tongue and

"Alright," he agreed handing the leash and accursed dog over. "But I hold no responsibility if he gets into trouble."

It was a lie and they both knew it. Yoko had given Yuto charge of En which did not automatically dissolved if the leash changed hands. Even if that were not so, the grey eyed boy would never let the younger Kurosaki bear all the blame. He refused to let her face anything terrible alone again.

Still, a touch of lightheartedness was good for the heart every now and then.

A comfortable lack of conversation fell between the two as the made their way back to the crossing from which they had come, broken only by Ruri's cooing to the little dog she led. For some unholy reason En was behaving far better for the long haired girl than he had for Yuto. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, the boy simply accepted it for what it was and did his best to stay out of the Sakaki pet's trotting way as the red man once more turned green.

The road was as busy as before, the street itself even busier as more people had emerged from their homes to partake in the business side of Maiami City. Both the phantom and the songbird had been shopping more than several times with the others in their household, a falcon nearly always being pulled in tow. Now looked to be a more peaceful passing of the minutes with no arguing counterparts. There were no brash antics or near overwhelming enthusiasm. There were no subtly cutting barbs or curses from falcons made severely irate by candy loving kids. There was just them.

"That's beautiful."

The grey eyed boy pulled his gaze away from where he had been appraising a glittering piece in the display of a modest jewelry store to look at what his companion had pointed out. It was a simple band of braided twine with several coloured beads staring out at the world. The one Ruri was focuses on glinted with a rich purple alternated with the ocean's greenness and something near a cloudless night sky. Each coloured bead seemed to orbit each other like the rings of multiple overlay units, clustering together in some parts then drawing apart in others. Simple though it was, Yuto had to admit the pattern was exquisite.

The old woman who sat behind the small street booth with the jewelry smiled at the two children in an inviting manner. "See something you like?"

Yuto watched Ruri bite her lip in indecision as En sat contentedly by her feet. The girl fingered her pocket – the one devoid of duel cards – and stared at the bracelet some more. She glanced to the boy beside who once who merely shrugged in response to the unspoken question. Yuto had no illusions over how needed his input was; if she wanted it she would buy it.

"They're all handmade by my daughter," the woman continued. "They are her pride, they are. She loves to make each one unique. No two are the same. It takes time, it does, to weave the bands like so and each bead must be selected to compliment the others. But my daughter makes them anyway, puts all her care into them so that others might enjoy their beauty. Take your time, my dear. If there is anything that grabs your attention…"

"I think I would like to buy that one, if I may," Ruri finally said pointing to the black, green and indigo laden band.

"There is a five-for-four deal if you are interest. Perhaps you have some friends who would also like a handmade piece of jewelry? I have earrings and necklaces too if you think they would prefer them."

The owner of the little business smiled a worn and crooked smile at the younger Kurosaki, a glimpse of worn and crooked teeth barely visible. It was an endearing, sympathy inducing gesture. Yuto hid a small smile. He had no doubt that Ruri would be unable to resist the quaint and calculated charm behind the curved lips. Before it all (and now after it all too) he had often listened to Shun complaining of the trinkets his sister would constantly buy as soon as the owner shot her a smile.

'She's almost as bad as you and frogs,' the yellow eyed teen had said. Yuto had not appreciated the thinly veiled insult. He had enjoyed the victory that his indignation had lent him towards his dueling however (and how sweet such victories had been, untainted by the need to hurt or experiences of being hurt that came with wickedly grinning faces).

In the end, Ruri succumbed to the deal offered to her, exchanging a reasonable wad of notes for another four pieces. There was a yellow-green necklace for Rin and an indigo anklet for Serena. An interestingly pair of earrings that supported fuscia and ruby had been purchased for Ruri's standard counterpart. The elegant gold and emerald beaded necklace for the Sakaki matriarch rounded the number to five.

"I also have several pieces for males if you would care to look," came the ever wheedling voice of a sales representative.

Yuto shook his head politely, bidding the woman a good day before following the path Ruri had now taken En.

"Do you think that they'll like the gifts?" the young Kurosaki asked with a vulnerability she only displayed to those closest to her.

Yuto smiled in a way that was somehow as fond as it was reassuring. "Yes."

He could not think of a reason why anyone would dislike a gift the perceptive girl offered them.

"Would you like me to take your bag?" he asked. "It would less awkward then if you held it while managing En."

Ruri sent her own smile to the grey eyed boy, it too containing that strange, shy fondness of tales told over proffered rings. "Yes, thank you."

She passed her bag to Yuto and the familiar soundless companionship between them descended once again. Yuto's heart was beginning to do more than maintain a steady beating, however, the exhilarating oddness in his stomach sending the organ's tempo aflutter. He found himself staring at the feather in the youngest Kurosaki's hair each time she pulled ahead of him to avoid being rammed by others. His growing exuberance that she had kept it was almost dizzying.

The Phantom Knight user drifted closer to where Ruri strode. His bad leg had seemingly not ached once despite all the walking and if the boy were to dwell on it he would deem it to be due to his unparalleled focus on the one girl who made his head swell with buoyant things. At one point Yuto's hand brushed against the back of hers. It was a brief motion, skin touching for the briefest of moments, but it brought on the tingling static of something more potent than Dark Rebellion's lightening brought goose bumps to them both.

More and more the store windows that lined the side of the street the Xyz duelists walked along were failing to draw Yuto's attention. The sensation that plagued him needed his utmost focus applied to it least his heart should leap out of his chest. He did not want to be devoid a heart. It was one of the essential organs that kept him tethered to this world and to her. Ruri. That voice which – along with her brother's – had pulled him back from darkness to where the world stood in light.

Courage was the stuff of heroes no matter how small and it was that which Yuto drew upon as he reached out against smooth skin once more. And Ruri, Ruri accepted the offer and took up his hand once more.

The world seemed to pause for an instant as the two youths turned to look at each other. Her head seemed to lean towards his, certainly closer than an overprotective brother would typically care for. She inhaled and then he did, each respectively bowing and stretching ever further so that the gap between them could be-

"Hello! You there! Yes, you! Would you like to try some free samples?"

Yuto and Ruri pulled apart faster than Yugo claimed he could go on a D-wheel. The man's voice was slightly hysterical, but both teenagers drew no note audible to it even if they tensed from the thin edge they themselves walked between surety and fear of attack. Two hands hovered over two decks, ready should they be needed.

"Free samples, I hear you ask," the man continued, a stripped apron hanging about his skinny form as he hung about the counter to an ice-cream shop. "Whatever of? I am here to tell you that they are of the most delicious ice-cream in the city – 'Rango's Authentic Ice-cream'!"

Yuto fought back the urge to raise an eyebrow at the man's dialogue. Instead he simply stayed where he was, ready should the person prove to be a threat but increasingly sure that a threat was far from what the eccentric man was.

"I've got pistachio and I've got raspberry with rich chocolate fudge!" The man cried, the goods held aloft in his hands. "One of each; the last free samples of the day!"

"No, thank you," said Ruri ever polite.

"Please!" The voice of the ice-cream store representative became a little higher pitched, as though there was some great stress driving his desire to sell (in this case, free ice-cream). "I must insist! This is the most brilliant ice-cream that one could try! It is _good_ ; there's no other way to describe it!"

"No," Yuto reiterated firmly. "Thank you."

"Surly you would like some for your pretty girlfriend there?" The man was clearly desperate.

The words send a faint – and increasingly familiar – hue of rose across both teenagers' cheeks. Still, neither made a move to object to the observation. Both knew it rang with a truth buried in that unsearched mine between them. That knowledge, however, did not stop the two from beginning to move away, En tugging at Ruri's hand as a new scent spiked his interest.

"When was the last time you indulged in the delicious creaminess of authentic homemade ice-cream?"

A stillness settled over Yuto that only his comrades from the war would recognise as the boy being caught out by something unexpected and confronting. To the untrained eye it was simply a calmness rivaled only by those wise gurus in tales past.

How long _had_ it been since he had tasted homemade ice-cream? Yes, the Sakaki's had taken them all out to get a cone the first night all the boys they had taken on had arrived at their house. Since then, and at Sora's insistence, ice-cream had become a staple of the household freezer. Yet it was all store brought, certainly not homemade. Not like his mother had made…

"What flavours do you have again?" Ruri asked somewhere in the distance.

Yuto blinked back the wetness that had begun to pool unbidden in his eyes. The greyness of the two orbs had darkened to the colour of slate and storm clouds, yet had grown disconcertingly bright too. He fingered the cloth draped over his chest wondering, not for the first time, where his mother was, if she was still alive at all.

"Yuto?" That quiet and strong voice again, calling him like it always did. "Do you want some?"

The boy looked at Ruri and nodded even if he could not yet manage words or a smile. The man in charge of giving free samples breathed a sigh of relief.

"One pistachio and one raspberry with rich chocolate fudge," he said handing over the goods.

Ruri thanked him and offered the tube with the pistachio flavoured desert. Yuto took it with another grateful nod. The memory of arms around him as they helped him stir the mixture before him, of hands helping him lift the bowl that needed freezing, of a lap he sat in as the two of them had dug into the desert with more childish glee than if it had been a store brought tub haunted his mind with melancholy longing. His throat was still chocked from forming words, his lips still frozen, but she knew well enough without him telling.

"Let's go back to the park. We can sit and enjoy this there," the purple haired girl said.

Yuto simply breathed and worked up the courage to lift the spoon from the container to his mouth as he walked. He had eaten ice-cream more than several times since Zarc fell, but he had not had pistachio since Heartland had fallen.

 _"I love you."_

The words echoed in his head, painful and grief ridden, the ghost of the first woman he had said the same three words to.

"This _is_ good ice-cream," Ruri said absently beside him. "A good flavour too. One of the best I've tried."

Yuto blinked but he could not help but smile. The youngest Kurosaki did not adhere to one particular flavour like him or her brother. Instead, having stated that it was impossible to know which ice-cream tasted the best without having tried them all at the age of three (according to Shun), she had set about trying ever flavour there was.

The grey eyed boy looked at the girl. If there was anyone who could succeed in such an endeavor, he had no doubt it was her.

They were back at the crossing, less cars now streaming past but the little red man declaring it unsafe to cross anyway. In his waiting Yuto finally lifted the spoon and consumed the ice-cream heaped atop it. The boy allowed the creamy desert to melt in his mouth, revealing in both the taste and surprisingly good feeling brought about by his favourite flavour – and a little piece of his old life – being handed to him for free. _If only everything in life were so easy…_

He swallowed another spoonful of the pistachio flavoured food. It really was good ice-cream, almost as good as his mother's own pistachio version. The boy closed his eyes and lifted the spoon once more.

The little man turned green and the beeping that accompanied the change followed the two fourteen year olds across the road to the park once more. They wandered for a moment, reveling in the treat the world had granted them in place of its usual misery as they searched for a spot where they could simply sit and be at peace.

Catching Ruri looking at some dancing birds once more, Yuto smiled.

"Here is a good place," he said and settled on the grass.

There was no argument as the youngest Kurosaki sat as well, still entranced by the flight of several sparrows ice-cream temporarily forgotten. En growled for a moment at a bird that landed just in front of his nose before flopping to writhe around in the grass, tail wagging. Unable to help himself, Yuto reached out a hand to pat the small canine. He quickly withdrew it with a grimace when his action was greeted with a familiar sloppy tongue.

"This is nice," Ruri said suddenly.

The boy beside her shot her a curious look. "What do you mean?"

"I just… I like spending time doing normal things like before." The girl started attacking her ice-cream once more. "It helps me remember that it's over. Or that it never begun. Sometimes I wish that that it all really was just a bad dream…"

Yuto knew a thing or two about bad dreams. He also knew a thing or two about wishes that never came true.

Ruri gave a small laugh, a thing that disturbed the air but was lacking in any true sound. It was not a disconcerting laugh or one ridden with melancholy thoughts, however, nor was it a laugh that many a clown had attempted to pull from an entertained audience. It was simply an expression devoid of words.

"It's so-" The girl waved one hand at nothing and everything around them, seemingly lost in the ineffable nature of what she wanted to express. "I hated that _they_ ruined all the spaces like this back home. They were so full of life, of tranquility and _they destroyed_ _it_. All those birds and trees… It was a place that you could go to get away from your troubles, you know? A refuge, a sanctuary, and it wasn't just for one person. Anyone and everyone could go. Whether you were alone or not, you didn't feel alone by the end. Those spaces had a way of connecting you to the world like nothing else could and _they_ just-" Ruri sighed. "I missed being able to simply be in them. Didn't you?"

"Yes," Yuto breathed. He dared not say more, breath more least he should disturb the captivating creature beside him.

"I'm glad we could come here."

She was like an angel, a heavenly figure strong and warm and wholly forbidden to the mediocre humans below. Her very aura was intoxicating, the stuff that sirens cursed damned sailors with, only kinder and more resolute. There were tales of how Emperors of civilisations long past had captured beautiful songbirds and placed them in gilded cages so that the birds might sing their woes away – certainly a crime for such birds were meant to be free. Was that not the moral of love? How else could one truly know if they never gave their desired a chance to return?

But even that was a promise that could not be kept for eventually all things left for good.

 _It was over. They had been split inside the demon's body and cast from it once more. Yet he feared that the dark had not finished with him. Zarc was dead, but so was he. He remembered dying, remembered fading, fading into that true nothingness beyond only to be halted from fading further by a tether he could not shake…_

 _"Yuto."_

The grey eyed boy blinked, inhaled and stared at the few clouds swirling in the sky. He could hear the scrap of plastic on cardboard as Ruri finished the last of her sample. His own empty container sat atop his lap emitting a subtle air of nostalgic, solemn contentment.

"We should tell Shun about that ice-cream place," Ruri said. "I'm sure he would like to try some of the sorbets there."

"He would probably only ever get the lemon," Yuto pointed out. "He doesn't vary much from food he likes when he has the choice."

The younger Kurosaki smiled at her absent brother's expense. "You're right. That doesn't mean he shouldn't expand his tastes though."

An arced eyebrow over a grey eye and amused lips was response enough to the statement.

"You're right. He's more stubborn than Kaito." Ruri shook her head and made to stand. "Here, if you take En, I'll take our rubbish to the bin."

Yuto was about to protest when the dog in question splayed atop his outstretched feet making no sign to move. Grudgingly the grey eyed boy handed over his empty ice-cream container and took the leash. En happily licked the strip of tan flesh exposed by between his pants and shoe.

"Ah…"

Ruri bent to brush a hand against the exposed fluff En had exposed whilst laying on his back. The canine's tail thumped hard against the ground in delight, turning his body this way and that every so often as the petting continued. His round eyes stared up at the one doing the petting with a hopeful expression, his front paws held in front of him like a kangaroo's. He made a little snorting grunt of pleasure.

"What a cute little dog you are," the purple haired girl cooed as she doubled further to rub said dog's belly more vigorously.

Yuto watched on in amazed mystification. He would never understand how people could lavish such attention on creatures that simply ate, pooped, slept and licked themselves and then proceeded to lick him with the same tongue regardless of his protests. Nor could he understand how exactly one went about befriending such creatures (it did not help that he had somehow unknowingly become that target of physical affection from all the pets in the Sakaki household again to his abundant protesting). Yet, as detached from animals as he was, the grey eyed boy could appreciate the kindness that Ruri showered on En with ease.

It was the same kindness that he had witnessed her determinedly struggle to make known to the encampments of refugees, few as they had been (too few, far too few), during the invasion. She had fetched water without complaint and not just for them. A doll a child should have abandoned out of practicality but had not was fixed, perhaps not easily, with whatever she could find. Wounds were healed as best as she could even as she sought to learn more from the few still able to teach. And if nothing else could be given as kindness, a simple word or two, a smile was drawn from the wells of hope she had.

Her kindness had always awed Yuto, inspired him in ways that seemed inexplicable, pushed him to not hurt others as much as he could despite their desire to hurt him (and how well had _that_ had turned out, with demons and rage and Akabas). It had done more than that as well, endearing her to him without either ever truly realising. War was not the time to realise such things, but now…

When he had first seen Ruri upon waking in the hospital she had appeared a benevolent goddess to his bleary eyes.

If that detail slipped out, Shun could belt him for even thinking of his little sister in such a way (but he wasn't, not in that way that caused big brothers to be wary of every human with the same XY chromosomes coded into their very being). Shun _could_ belt him, but it would not change the giddy fluttering of Yuto's heart. Upon waking he had known even if he had not truly realised it, for knowing was not the same as realising. One was a fact that one intrinsically and automatically knew however unconscious; the other took that fact to the conscious mind.

Yuto was only truly realising that fact now.

Three words and the world fell apart – was that not how so many stories went?

The Xyz duelist closed his eyes and inhaled as Ruri finally walked away. He had suddenly dived headfirst into the mine between them and the sheer volume of the stuff within was overwhelming him. Each touch, each glance, every feather and smile and laugh – all now clearly rung with a fondness he had heard but not for sometimes even musicians were deaf to the music that they played. The grey eyed boy wondered if Ruri had heard the ringing too.

Pressing a hand to his chest – a motion that before had been a futile attempt to alleviate the darkness within – Yuto exhaled unsteadily. His heart was not thundering away but its tempo had changed. It was a minute shift between life ensuring beats, but it was there nonetheless melding a hitch smoothly into the original pattern. There was no hurt, however, not like when that darkness had clenched around his heart. There was just a change.

The boy inhaled. _When did this happen?_

The change must have been gradual, easing its way into existence so as not to bring the one it afflicted to a stumbling, permanent halt. When had his heartbeat changed? Surely not in the thick of everything when the organ had pounded so loudly in his ears that if the explosions had not made him deaf he feared his heart would. Surely not then, when it had hurt in its shifting and so caused him to bring undue hurt to others. Surely not then at all.

But when?

Examining his thoughts was less confusing. It was as easy as exhaling to realise the line that laid beneath them. After all, he had been thinking along it the entire day. One did not put feathers in another's hair or hold hands for inordinate amounts of time without realising what they were doing.

Three words.

It was that thought which now haunted the crevices of his mind.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Even amongst that shifted beating of his heart and thoughts he could feel Ruri's presence return beside him. Inhale. Exhale. It was the only thing keeping the boy from drowning beneath everything within that mine.

Yet, in diving into the mine he had only skimmed the very top of its surface. That did not matter. He had gone far enough to _realise._

Thoughts and tempos and ringing – there was only one logical course of action to take from where he now was. Drawing in a breath, then another, then another Yuto hesitated. For a good several minutes the boy hesitated as Ruri stared about them at the spacious park once more. His hands seemed to sweat but they felt as dry as his mouth. He feared but his knowledge told him not to fear for he knew what the end would hold.

Three words…

 _That isn't so hard._

Three words.

The boy glanced at where she sat and inhaled.

"I like you," he said shyly, timidly as though he were back as that little boy who had answered the invitation to play with an intimidating, yellow eyed stranger. The three words were softer even than the breaths of a ghost.

"What did you say? I couldn't hear."

Yuto inhaled once more and closed his eyes. "I like you."

It was no great declaration of love, no admission of two souls more adult than child, no tear-wrenching confession between fellow survivors of a near genocide. It was simply a fourteen year old boy telling the crush of his life his feelings. But to fourteen year old teenagers, 'like' was sometimes simultaneous with that far deeper adult 'love'.

And sometimes 'love' was too deep a word to truly mine, too scary a word to face, too vulnerable a word to simply launch in the air without a shield to hide dented armour behind.

'Love' was a promise and all promises eventually broke.

Yuto knew he was unique in his dueling, setting cards instead of revealing them in his first turn. It had been a show of mercy, of kindness even to enemies in a battlefield atop the bones of his home. It had been a final chance to run, to surrender and not be hurt. It had then been a strategy to catch his opponents off guard, to hide his own strategy until the last moment, even before those became lifesaving qualities. And always it had been a shield to hide his vulnerability until the other person revealed their true colours, to keep him safe for as long as possible from broken things and the things that broke them.

It was not his way to charge in like his brash (and bold) Synchro counterpart. Not his way to force like the Fusion user, Yuri. Not his way to command attention like Yuya. It was his way to _watch_ the others around him and _react_ to them accordingly. Yes, he could push; he had been forced to push in the war. Yet, his song was one of a reticent nature and his vulnerability shielded by it. So it was 'like' not 'love', not yet in any case (and _not_ with Shun able to appear at any moment).

"I like you." _I love you._

What was the difference, really?

There was a pause as En flashed his dignity (or demonstrated his lack of it) to the world in his thorough cleaning of himself. Yuto's third confession hung in the air, firmer than the first two, more confident in its declaration, and yet still asking permission that it was okay to feel this way about the girl beside him. Even if he knew what the response would be, even if he knew at his most subconscious level for one could only be so oblivious to that music-less song oft lamented by poets, he would always ask permission first. So the grey eyed boy waited for an answer, hoping for one but willing to concede to her will with any other.

Then the world seemed to inhale all at once, on the cusp of a great revelation.

"I like you too."

In those three shy words Ruri showed that she had completely understood everything said and unsaid.

 _I love you too._

A promise of something. Who cared if it broke?

And Yuto could breath again and he could not. He wanted to laugh and cry and scream to the world that he was not good enough for the girl who was one fourth the reincarnation of a hero where he was one fourth the reincarnation of a monster. Yet, that was unfair to her and to himself. They were both more than their predecessors. They had proved that in the final battle against the darkness that resided within him and his counterparts.

But that darkness still resided there. He had harmed people, be it out of necessity or not. That darkness had made him hurt people, made him hurt the ones he loved.

If Yuto was sick of anything, it was of hurting. Himself or others, the result was the same. He did not want to hurt anymore. Yet, whether or not he was good enough, he knew without a single atom of doubt that he would let himself be hurt a hundred times over, a thousand, a million times over to keep Ruri safe.

If it was a tale that they lived in, fairy or otherwise, he would be the battered knight to his fair bird maiden. He would be her protector, should she need another's protecting, ever ready to lay down sword and life if she only asked (and damn him if did not keep his promise for he had already fallen on his sword for another, a stranger whose smile had brought his disillusioned soul as much hope as Ruri's had, had brought a much greater hope for Ruri's – and everyone's – future). He _would_ protect her. Loyal to the last. Steadfast in his service. A ghost by her side watching, waiting, shielding…

But it was not a tale they lived in, fairy or otherwise. It was harsh and bitter and cruel reality, reality that bit and stung and clawed as much as it made lovely scented flowers called roses grow. Any misconceptions either of them had bourn about the truth of reality had been irrevocably corrected by the invasion and subsequent horrors. The best they could do for each other was to simply survive.

And as he stared into Ruri's eyes caught by something ineffably, wonderfully like an oath that would never be broken, Yuto did not care for what reality might otherwise say.

 _Love._

It was clear and sharp and as winding as the punches any of Ray's reincarnations (and more than reincarnations) could throw. It was that strange and growing feeling that had kept him just that little bit warmer when winter bit the rubble of the hideout of two Kurosaki birds and their phantom. That strange feeling when there was no reason to smile but he had smiled anyway amidst dust and death and grief at a mere glimpse of her standing defiantly beside him. That strange feeling which had snuck upon his pain-addled self whilst being put back together by her _again_. That strange feeling that gave him hope for some future when it was clear he had no future at all. That strange feeling he had wondered over and over, especially in the first months – and still even now, although Sora and Serena and even Edo had perhaps begun to provide an answer other than what the majority had portrayed – if the soldiers who hunted them had felt for anyone let alone _'Xyz scum'_. (Scum – to think that was what an entire population had been reduced to in the eyes of another, the mere filth found on the bottom of the poorest of the most unloved shoes. How, Yuto could not comprehend, never had. Even the Fusion soldiers were not scum to the grey eyed boy they had mercilessly hunted; murderers, cowards, bastards and curs, but _never_ utterly inferior, bottom feeding, worthless, trash-like _scum_.)

O, he had not _loved_ Ruri at first. Not truly even if she was the only person he had ever formed an even remote crush on. They had been teenagers, had only known each other for several years and had no need to think on what they would regret if their lives ended but a draw of a card later. Yet that crush had grown into something far stronger.

With each flustered moment where their hands had brushed on not yet destroyed park benches it had grown. With the too tight (and nowhere near tight enough) grip of hands that were terrified to let go of each other let alone the far larger ones they also held amongst the suddenly descended chaos it had grown. With every reassuring squeeze of hands against suffocating fear it had grown. With all the times that saw the unquestioning taking of an urgently, often bloodied proffered hand it had grown. And with the absence of those touching hands it had grown, for never had truer words been spoken than those immortal ones that graced the lips of parted lovers alongside tragically broken oaths.

Like had grown to love. It was simple as adding two ones together, as simple as the knowledge that war was bad and peace was good.

It was as simple as reaching across the bench to lay his hand atop hers.

Her skin felt warm. Yuto worried that his own was sweaty. Then slender fingers entwined themselves with his and Ruri gave the grey eyed boy her sweetest, most adoring smile. The boy returned the expression with his own gently up-curved lips leaning his head closer to hers, staring into the vibrant depths of her eyes.

The littlest (and yet would undoubtedly remain forever taller than him) Kurosaki bird stared back at him through her own half-lidded bliss. A tingle of electricity coursed through the Phantom Knight duelist more potent than any thrill from seeing the audiences' smiles when his friends dueled as dueling was supposed to be. His heart thrummed. His ears were filled with rushing blood. The weight of her hand remained constant atop his own just as it always had.

Nervousness spread its rosy glow across the boy's face as it did with the girl beside him as the two members of the former Resistance remained entranced by the other's open eyes, their noses mere centimetres apart. Ruri exhaled and Yuto took in her fleeing breath and for a moment the world shrunk to just the two of them.

But they did not kiss, not yet, not while 'love' was still 'like' and silent stillness spoke of greater adoration than any action could.

From where she stood watching the young duo against the rail of a walkway a little above the park Yoko allowed a sense of happy accomplishment to engulf her.

"You couldn't have waited until they were at least twenty-one?" the tall bag-laden teenager beside her asked dryly.

Yoko smiled. "You find them just as adorable as I do."

"Twenty then. Twenty is a good age to start dating for both of them."

"Oh, come on. I know you were the one who was responsible for that incident with them, Core and the blanket. Besides Shuzo tells me you always make sure that your sister and Yuto get paired up to do chores when he sleeps there. Not to mention those 'free ice-cream tasters'." She waggled a finger at her bag laden companion. "I know what you were up to when you claimed you needed to go to the bathroom. You're not as sneaky as you think. Although you may want to apologise to the server at that ice-cream store for intimidating him so much, intentional or not."

"…Nineteen and no lower."

It was as much an admission of guilt as the woman was ever going to verbally get from her fellow 'mother bird'. That did not mean she could not have her fun with him in other ways.

"So, when are you going to start looking for your own special someone?"

In what was an amazing coincidence, Yuto started choking on something invisible at the same time as Ruri let loose a loud peal of laughter and En started yapping. Shun's face slowly turned from the chaotic scene to where Yoko stood grinning too much like her husband and son.

"I already have, how do you put it, my 'two chicks' to look out for," he said, enunciating each syllable clearly and deliberately. "Why would I want to add another person to that list?"

"If you're scared to talk to someone, you can always practice with me or Shuzo. Either way, there is no need for you to fear something so wonderful."

"What- Why- I'm not- I wouldn't- RURI! YUTO! HURRY UP! WE'RE LEAVING!" the yellow eyed Kurosaki shouted, still glowing an uncharacteristically brilliant cherry red from Yoko's words.

The woman merely laughed in response, trying to stilt the growth of her smile as Yuto – uncharacteristically shocked by Shun's sudden interruption – hastily released Ruri's hand and hid behind her the entire walk to where her elder brother was waiting, dragging En behind him. The poor boy was nearly as red as his friend, although the latter was blessedly still recovering from his own embarrassment to notice. The younger Kurosaki's own newly acquired tinge of rose across her cheeks completed the trio's adorable failure to remain stoic in the face of love.

Yoko felt something warm bloom inside of her.

The three blushing teenagers before her had only a week ago been reduced to a state bereft of even tears when they had knelt before the graves of their lost comrades. Even now Yoko could still hear the flapping of tattered red material every time a breeze blew against her face. It was a chilling memory. Even her tears had seemed like ice that day.

It was all too clear what the war had done to the children caught up in it. Heartland itself was a testament to the deep shadows that hung over such young minds. It was a nightmare of rubble and dust and guilt and anger and chilling graves of red – trust was only one of many issues as the two in front and one beside her conducted the struggle to repair not just their lives, but their childhoods as well. Deep down, Yoko knew that some of those battles just could not be won.

Still, the mother would do what she could. If that meant pushing a hesitant relationship into the sunlight where it could fully bloom than so be it. She had always found that healing started by bonding with others, as did the best happiness.

The three teenagers in her current vision had already begun to heal, that was without doubt. How much further could they heal if they opened themselves fully to the source of their innocent blushing?

Yoko grinned as she bent to scratch En behind the ears as the dog resisted the pull Yuto had on his leash. Finally taking pity on her son's Xyz counterpart, she made a gesture to take the beloved pet from him, a gesture the boy was only too happy to comply with.

"If no one needs anything else," she said. "Then we can go."

"Oh…" Ruri breathed. "Wait, please."

Yoko turned as the girl rummaged about in the bag she carried and pulled out a necklace. The woman blinked as the piece of beaded jewelry was offered to her. Her surprise was quickly overcome by a wave of fondness for the young Kurosaki.

"I thought you would like it," came the soft words that had lost their shyness over the past weeks.

Yoko smiled. "It's beautiful."

She accepted the necklace and immediately placed it about her neck. Whether it clashed with her outfit or not was of no matter; all mothers knew the self-sacrificing joy of accepting their children's gifts. From the corner of her eyes she saw Shun ruffle his little sister's head in approving affection.

En suddenly whined, pulling on his leash in the direction of home. The action brought a chuckle from the blonde woman above him.

"Alright, we'll head home," she said half to the dog and half to the three teenagers around her.

Executing her words was easy enough and the leisurely pace they had decided upon (no doubt by Shun who was eyeing his best friend's leg with thinly veiled concern even as he rubbed his once broken ribs absently) allowed Yoko the chance to observe her work. En trotted wearily beside her whilst Yuto and Ruri walked in front. The young couple were continuously switching between staring at the other adoringly and looking innocently about the streets, another set of yellow eyes staring fondly down on the both of them as they walked (even if one chick was deliberately avoiding Shun's gaze much like Shun was avoiding Yoko's mischievous one).

As far as conversations went, the subjects were light and lacking in any true significance. Simple talk of what Yoko had bought, whether Ruri's counterparts would like their gifts and En's antics were exchanged between the two females. Yuto and Shun stayed mostly silent, both content to listen to the chatter about them. That did not stop the other two from engaging them every so often. Indeed, when the subject shifted to creamy treats consumed that day Ruri drifted closer to where the elder Kurosaki towered over her.

"There was this ice-cream store that you would like," the girl said tugging insistently on her brother's hand. "I think it was called 'Rango's Authentic Ice-cream'. They've got a lemon sorbet you could try."

"Really?"

Yoko hid a smile. The seventeen year old was good at keeping his face devoid of any true expression that might give away his less than sinister deeds. It did not matter. She had made him openly blush once today and that was enough for now. Now she would simply enjoy the sweet fruit the day had produced, both in her purchases and the new relationships that had finally moved beyond a tentatively closed bud into something more like a rose in bloom.

* * *

 **This was a prompt from Flockingaround who wanted to see the development of Ruri and Yuto's relationship: _After the events of red scarves, Yoko persuades Yuto to bring Ruri on a day out around the maiami city to recapture the fun times they had before the war. They have both changed since the war in heartland, and realising this they re-access their relationship for each other._**

 **I was more than happy to oblige to this prompt (I LOVE the Xyz trio, if you haven't already figured out ;) I hope that I executed this chapter well enough. I've got a few more ideas for it that might see the light of day later down the track. Not quite sure how I did on the change, but yeah. I gave it a shot.**

 **Personally, I don't think Shun would be all that opposed to Yuto and Ruri's relationship.** **I also figure that despite the growth spurt Yuto will eventually go through, Ruri (and Shun) will always remain just that bit taller than him. In terms of a lack of kiss between the subjects of the Fallenangel ship, well it seemed to me that they wouldn't kiss just yet (cheek or otherwise). Maybe not for a while (I haven't** **decided), but they would eventually. In any case, in terms of them I think that as I said their relationship has kind of gone beyond that point to being able to just convey everything in 'silent stillness', as well as is still simultaneously in the young and innocent and just budding phase of their relationship where they are still too nervous (so to speak) to actually do so. Maybe after a few actual dates an eventual kiss on the hand or cheek or even lips...? ;) I've got a few ideas for an actual date - this one was more so dealing with them getting to that stage since I doubt they have before (or if they did, it would have ceased due to the invasion, etc.).**

 **And a casual statement that Yuto (in this series) is not an animal person. ;) But I've decided that the Sakaki pets, En in particular, adore him to add a bit of humour. ;D**

 **Meanwhile I need some suggestions for ideas regarding Sora. I've got a bunch for the other characters (just backlogged at the moment – the next few chapters will delve into Serena and Yuya before focusing mainly on Yugo and Rin for a bit (with Yuzu thrown in), then some more into characters already explored), but not really him. The next chapters might take a while, but I'll do my best. As a general rule I'm going to try and update once a month at least. I apologise in advance for the length of time it will take.**

 **Please leave a review if you feel so inclined.**


	7. Something to smile for

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh Arc V or any of its plot, characters or related franchise.**

 **This chapter could be seen as the first of this series chronologically. It focuses on a Yusho and Yuya moment in the hospital. (I apologise if the former is out of character as I haven't actually seen him in the Anime yet, so am basing his personality off the scarce information I've gleaned which makes it kind of hard to write).**

 **I'll admit, this didn't turn out how I thought it would. But then again, I didn't really have a specific idea of how it should go... Sorry for the quality. It is definitely one of my worse chapters, but I needed to get it out of my head, so... I'll try ot make it up to you guys quality wise with the next bunch.**

* * *

The clock ticked. The pendulum swung. The images that flashed in the boy's head were far from welcome.

 _(I will destroy you all!)_

The sheets were itchy, but only in a barely conscious way. On a near primitive level they made his skin crawl where the cloth touched as though something were trying to get in or out. As though it was trying to morph him into something else.

Or perhaps it was merely a left over feeling from when Zarc had stolen his body before.

The clock ticked. The sheets itched. The pendulum swung.

The one abed bit his lip, the crease upon his forehead looking more like his Xyz counterpart's permanent one with every passing minute. To a trained observer, however, it was clear that it was melancholy, not hateful anger, which ruled the furrows. The boy's downcast eyes moved back and forth with the arc of his beloved pendant. Yet, no matter how much the pendulum swung it failed to sooth and relax as it was supposed to do.

 _(You think that you can defeat me? I am Zarc, the Supreme Dragon King and the best duelist to ever exist!)_

The clock ticked. The pendulum swung and Yuya felt like he was drowning in the anguish of his shatter ideology.

Dueling is for smiles – he had always told himself that. No matter the danger or the stubbornness of his opponent he had always advocated for entrainment that brought the innocent happiness of childhood games. His Performerpals had always helped him to ensure this, Hip Hippo, Whip Snake, Silverclaw, Timegazer Magician, Stargazer Magician. And Odd Eyes too. _Odd Eyes…_

 _(They are a part of me! No matter how much you beg or cry they will_ always _belong to me and me alone.)_

Dragons and war and fragments of worlds and people; it all seemed like a nightmare that his mind had conjured out of spite from a meal too close to bedtime. Yuya had been certain that no one in reality could be so twisted as to _enjoy_ hunting others, _enjoy_ causing pain with simple cards. It was a naivety ingrained into his base beliefs on the game. Even when the boy had been confronted by the fact people _could_ enjoy such things, he had never believed it could not change, that he could not change it. And he had never, _never_ believed that he himself would partake in such dueling let alone enjoy them.

He was a dueltainer at heart. It was his very soul, bringing smiles.

Yet, now he had hurt those he cared about with the very thing he claimed was for smiles alone. Now his soul was tarnished.

The pendulum swung.

 _(Pathetic.)_

A tear crept unbidden from the corner of Yuya's eye, but he was too weary to follow it with more. Weary. Drained. Disillusioned. It was all the same, was it not? Physically and mentally and emotionally and spiritually he hurt and he could not stop hurting despite the success they had all finally achieved, the battle they had all finally won.

 _(I never lose.)_

"Yuya?"

It would take as much effort to turn from the voice as to turn towards it. So the boy remained in place, pendulum continuing to arc over his head with the gentle suggestions of his wrist. But he was listening. How could he not when that same voice had so suddenly disappeared from his life once before?

"You're awake. That's good."

There was the dull thud of a cane hitting the ground, the following footsteps making their way towards the seat by the occupied hospital bed. Vibrant clothes rustled as the man wearing them seated himself and stretched out both legs. His smile, though present and genuinely caring, went unseen by his son.

The clock ticked. The pendulum swung.

Yusho allowed a little worry to creep into his expression.

For a while only that broken silence made by a lone clock ticking alongside human breaths existed in the room. Tick and tock. In and out. An endless cycle of pointless noise that might as well have ceased existing if only that would not have meant the deaths of father and son.

Tick and tock. Tick and tock. In and out. In and out.

In all that time, Yuya had not moved from his prone position and so the pendulum continued its swinging.

"I brought some cards if you wanted to…" The man trailed off when the air seemed to grow heavier at his suggestion. Yusho smartly laid the cards aside and returned to waiting.

Tick and tock. In and out.

A tragic heroes of ages long past could have danced and loved and died his way through the walls and the room would have been filled with less worry and melancholy despair than its two current inhabitants put forth. Silence such as the one they were experiences was deafening to all not caught in their own heads and the father suffered the same curse. It made him angst-ridden in its own way, causing him to shift and twitch anxiously in his seat. The boy, however, was one of those former persons caught.

 _It hurt. It hurt and he was alone. Something had happened – a birth, a death, an oath, a stolen life – but he had nothing to show for it. There were no images in this space, no sound, no sense of being. He might as well have been an atom in a star, whoever he was. Who_ was _he?_

 _And somehow, beneath all the lonely confusion, in his deepest of unconscious minds not aware even to him in his current state, he knew that what the dark and screams and power lust answered was wrong._

 _(I draw.)_

"I can't duel anymore."

Yusho frowned in concern. "Why not?"

"I just can't," Yuya said.

"You are a good duelist with good principles," his father said. "Whatever happened-"

"Happened," the Standard fragment of Zarc cut in. "And it shouldn't have. I shouldn't have given in, but I did."

"It was not your fault, son," Yusho broke in gently. "And you overcame it in the end. That, if anything, shows the mark of your character I think."

"Yeah," Yuya agreed. "That I can't control myself or stop myself from doing something bad."

The clock ticked. The pendulum swung.

Now there were tears, true tears, falling.

" _I_ hurt them. Yuzu, Gongenzaka, all my friends – I hurt them. He- It…I wanted to destroy them. To hurt them while we dueled. I didn't care about what you taught me, what I tried to teach others. I didn't care. I-"

"Yuya…" Yusho tried. It was not enough.

"I was a monster," the distraught boy continued. "I turned into a monster and I couldn't stop it. And then that monster hurt people using _dueling._ It happened before then too. I couldn't control my anger and that other… _thing_ inside me and it just took over. I _let_ it take over when I was supposed to be dueling like dueling should be, like _I_ told them dueling should be."

The clock ticked and somewhere a pendulum swung, hesitating at one extreme point as it contemplated falling back to the other side.

"I'm a fraud. And a monster. No one should duel a monster."

The utter despondency which echoed through the words cut a chasm deeper than Yusho had thought anything possibly could. If Yoko, the strong love of his life, were to die in the next moment broken and battered and with him to wholly blame the feelings that would engulf him would be nothing compared to what he felt now.

It was his son lying before him. His _son_ claiming that he was a monster. Trying was nowhere near enough, but it was all he had.

"You are not a monster, Yuya." They were strong words, firm ones, good ones to start with. "And you are not a fraud. That wasn't dueling. Whatever Zarc was doing it was not dueling and that was not you. He took you over, stole your body, but it was _not_ you. I swear that is the truth."

 _Amongst the darkness he could hear his friends calling his name even as they screamed in pain. Then there was laughing, laughing that came from_ his _mouth in_ his _voice even if he had never laughed that laugh before._

 _(You thought that you could beat me?)_

The clocked ticked. The sheets itched. The pendulum swung.

"It felt like it was me," Yuya said. He sniffed.

"Yuya," his father said. "You are not Zarc."

There was no response.

"There is no reason that you should not duel as you wanted to. Yuya? Son? Do you understand what I am saying? I know you might not feel like talking, but-"

The Standard reincarnation of a monster sniffed again.

Yusho sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. "At least… Can I get to know my son again? Please?"

The boy finally turned his head, the pendulum lowering although it continued to swing. His father, the one who had raised him for most of his life if not the last three years, looked back at him with large and adult eyes. There was a quiet pleading in them too, a sad hope that longed to right things made wrong. It was vulnerable. It was tentative. It was not the father that Yuya remembered.

And if there lurked something else in that gaze too, a little hidden something more cunningly determined than sad…

He could not resist that plead, monster or not.

"Uh-huh." The sound came out of the teenager's mouth, weary but still containing that kind soul within however bruised.

"How have you been at school?"

"Okay." Yuya chewed his lip. The earnest smile on his father's face, so full of love even after all that time, even after everything that had happened…

"Any trouble?" the man asked.

His son could no more lie than take up another dueling card. "Some."

It hurt Yusho to think that the boy ( _his,_ not Zarc's) had suffered while he had been gone. It hurt in a way that only parents could hurt when their children suffered from bullies and pains that they could not simply kiss better or whisk away. It also hurt the man to hear each monosyllable response. The lack of elaboration seemed a testimony to the melancholy swirling away inside of Yuya, a testimony to the legacy Zarc had still managed to leave behind despite his final defeat.

The world was full of monsters and sometimes parents could not protect their kids from them.

The clock ticked. The pendulum swing.

Yusho dragged his next question into being. "What sort of trouble?"

"Just-" Yuya didn't know what to say. 'I was bullied because people thought you were a runaway coward' seemed to be too harsh words and he did not want to hurt anyone else if he could help it. "Mum and Shuzo helped take care of it. So did Yuzu. And Gongenzaka."

"You have some good friends," Yusho smiled. He would have to remember to thank each of them properly, in person, for doing what he had not been there to do.

"Yeah…"

Yusho's smile faded a bit, the depressed response not being the one he had hoped for. Still, there were other things that he could draw on. The conversation as not over yet.

"You seem to be particularly close with Yuzu. I see that hasn't changed."

"I guess," Yuya murmured. His eyes had turned back to watch his beloved pendulum continue swinging.

"She is such a strong girl," Yusho mused. "Very much like her father in some aspects and completely different in others. Kindhearted, certainly, but also not one to take any nonsense."

"Yeah... She hit me with her fan more than once. I guess I deserved it each time – or most of the time anyway – but it hurt a lot. Even more than running into a glass door while running."

The only adult in the room struggled to subdue a flash of excitement. He had, it seemed, found a way into his son's pensive head. "Did she ever hit anyone else?"

"Her dad," Yuya said. "And maybe Shingo. She would use her fan on other boys who annoyed her too. I think she hit Yugo a lot when she was with him."

"Were people scared of her?"

"I think it was more respect," the boy replied. "Maybe some fear… I mean, she wouldn't hit you unless you deserved it. Mostly she helped people. She wanted to make them feel good about themselves, to make sure that they were treated right. She thought that making people smile was a great idea."

The pendulum was swinging faster and faster now with the energy slowly building in the room, but the one holding it did not notice.

"And you are just friends with her?" the only one _to_ notice asked.

"Yes. I mean, no." Yuya's eyes were filled with that determined earnest that comes only from a bond closer than most people would ever achieve. "We're best friends and always will be."

Yusho grinned to himself. He wondered if Yoko saw the same thing he did between the two teenagers, if Shuzo did. Then he mentally kicked himself. Of _course_ they did. They were parents, after all, and both highly observant of people.

"Do you have any other best friends?" the man asked.

"Gongenzaka," came the immediate reply. The undertone of melancholy had been all but forgotten.

"Why him?"

"He looks out for me," Yuya said. "And he's always there when I need him. Plus he helped teach…me…"

The pendulum's swinging became frantic once more.

"What is your favourite dish that your mother makes?" Yusho cut in quickly to avoid backtracking too far along the ground he had gained.

"Her pancake sandwich."

It was said without hesitation and made the man regret all the more the more than three years he had missed his wife's cooking. The famed dueltainer's stomach rumbled embarrassingly in agreement.

"Have your tastes changed for anything else," he said as much to cover the noise up as to continue the conversation. "Or do you still love that ice-cream store near the park on the street your mother likes to do her shopping?"

"Yes," Yuya answered. "They've changed some of the flavours though since you've been… And maybe they changed them again while-"

"As long as they still have strawberry," Yusho said with a theatrical wink. "Then I don't mind what they change the rest to. Do you still have Kilo and Watt?"

"Mum would never get rid of them. She also got another two pets: a cat called Core and a puppy named En. I don't think Kilo likes En much, at least when En's in a playful mood."

"Still picking up strays then." The boy's father smiled lovingly at a wife who was not there. "She never could just leave them abandoned on the street. Does she still put out the dish of milk or food for the other neighborhood strays?"

"Yes." Yuya seemed to have acquired a ghostly smile upon his own face at the discussion of his mother's antics. "Every night. Sometimes she makes me do it. Whatever we put out is usually gone in the morning."

"Has she convinced Shuzo to do the same yet?"

"No, but Yuzu puts something out every now and then."

"She seems like the sort of person who would," Yusho agreed. "When did you meet Reiji Akaba? He seems like an intelligent young man."

"During a dispute between the two schools," Yuya said. "I suppose he is."

"What about Reira? That's his little brother, no?"

The ghostly smile seemed to appear again at the mention of the young boy. "He's adopted, I think. I met Reira afterwards when Reiji was organising the Lancers. Yuzu would love him once she got to know him better. She was always good with kids. Reiji's a good brother too, I suppose. But Reira can look after himself when he needs too. He just needs to smile a bit more, that's all."

The man took a breath. It was now or never. "Why did you decide to go with Reiji?"

"I wanted to save Yuzu."

The clock ticked but the pendulum stopped.

It was the lack of hesitation that stalled Yuya more than the realisation of what had been asked or what he had just said. Yusho, ever a ringmaster of entertainment and thus ever cunning, noticed. His gentle smile widened just a fraction.

"I see. And why did you become involved in the inter-dimensional war?" the man asked.

"Because-" Yuya paused, knowing what his father was now doing and thus unable to say it. "Because..."

"Yes, son?"

"Because I…"

 _He did not know where he was or what was going on. It was all black to him, all darkness – the same darkness he had been trying to subdue for a long while. It was simply a confused mess of cards and screams and smiles and pleading. There was nothing that indicated any fact to which he could cling, not even about who he was supposed to be._

 _There were urges, dark urges, destructive urges, but they felt off. There was a smile somewhere, but it was twisted in a way that smiles were never meant to be. There was a faint ember that had once roared with that treacherous, naïve hope, but now it had been swallowed by the darkness._

 _Darkness. That was all the world was to him now. Whatever it had been, whoever he had been it was all just black and angry and filled with hurt._ It _hurt. And it longed to spread, to consume everything and make it experience that hateful hurt it felt. So black, so dark, so violently angry and nothing,_ nothing _to tell him anything at all. He knew nothing, not his location, not his doings, not even his identity._

 _Yet…_

 _(If it is entertainment you want-)_

 _Yet he knew exactly where he was and who he was._ What _he was._

 _And it was wrong. It was very, very wrong. And it was_ him.

 _(-then let me entertain you.)_

 _The darkness bled black and smiled even blacker, and as it smiled it swallowed him whole once more._

"I don't know." They were almost desperate words, eager to escape further probing.

It was not to be.

"Why, Yuya? I know you can tell me why."

"I don't know. I don't _know._ It was because- Because…"

 _(I will give you a show that you will never forget! After all that is the aim of dueling.)_

 _Then another voice, one that echoed from the past and from within his soul, a single voice but made up of so many more he had influenced later on:_

 _"With your power…smiles…smiles…"_

"Because it was wrong _._ They were hurting people. They were using dueling to hurt people and that was _wrong_." The words gushed out, unstoppable now that the tap had been turned on. "Yuto and Shun and everyone else there were being hurt and then turning that hurt onto others. Someone needed to stop it. Someone needed to show them that what they were doing was wrong, that there was a better way."

"And what about in New Domino City?"

"That was the same!" Yuya cried. "They needed to be shown that they could live in peace if only they accepted that they needed to work together, that everyone was worth something."

Yusho smiled truly now, a twinkle in his eye. "And you used dueling to achieve all that?"

"Yes. What else could I have done? They wouldn't just listen to a kid like me otherwise."

"Then that proves it."

Yuya blinked. "What?"

"Zarc dueled to gain power, to become undefeatable and in doing so he hurt people," Yusho stated. "You dueled to help them, to bring them peace and heal them of whatever had injured their souls. That is a great difference between the two of you and one that you should remember; you always dueled to bring smiles to those who needed them. Zarc, in all his life, never committed himself to the same goal."

"But what about at Academia and all those other times I-"

"That was _Zarc_ , not you," his father affirmed.

"But Zarc wanted to entertain people too." It was a small voice, barely audible, but it knew what it was talking about.

Still, fathers always knew a lot more to talk about than their sons. Yusho, for all the years he had been absent, was no exception.

"Zarc never dueled simply to bring smiles, though. He loved the attention, the fame it gave him and through that he came to love the power. That is nothing like you, nothing like the son Yoko and I raised, and surely nothing like Yuzu's best friend." The man took a breath, knowing exactly what his final blow would be. "I doubt that Yuzu, from how you've described her, would even think of being friends with anyone like Zarc and she is still your friend, is she not?"

There was a rich pause. Almost impatiently the father waited for his words to sink into the mind of his son, for his son to understand them as they were meant to be understood. There was nothing more that he could do for the moment if it failed to work, not while Yuya was still hospitalised. Yet the boy was young, there was time enough. So the man waited for a response which finally, finally came.

 _(Now this,_ this _is entertainment.)_

"I don't know if I can duel again, dad."

There was a lack of certainty in the answer that gave hope to Yusho.

"That's alright," he said calmly. "You don't have to if you don't want to. Either way you will have family and friends to support you."

"Yeah…"

Perhaps what the boy needed the most was a show of trust.

"How about we play a small game, just the two of us?" Yusho said suddenly, reaching for the cards he had set aside before. "No duel discs and no audience. Just us and our cards. It will give you something to do until the hospital released you. I'll let you take the first turn, _but_ only if you give me a smile."

Yuya stared for a moment and then lowered his arm. Shifting into a seated position on his temporary bed, he slowly tweaked the corners of his lips upwards. It was a watery smile, but a smile nonetheless.

"Good," Yusho smiled in mock relief. "Your mother would have tied me to the back of her old motorcycle and driven off or something as equally painful if she found out that I made you cry and not smile. So would have your friend, Yuzu, if what you said was true."

The watery lips widened into a truer image of a sunny curve and that, as the famous dueltainer watched his son lay his first card, was all the man found he needed.

And if Yuya did not play his Odd Eyes Dragon at all in the game, then that was alright too. Eventually the fourteen year old would find his path again and a way to bring smiles to those who needed them even if it did not include cards at all.

* * *

 **I hoped that you enjoyed this. Not sure how well it is written, but there you go. I personally think Yuya would reject the idea of _HIMSELF_ duelling after everything - at least until someone talked some sense into him - mainly because of his fears regarding Zarc and the trauma being taken over by Zarc (and then hurting your friends, etc. through Zarc) would cause. This is especially since on the show I think Yuya has a bit of a depressive/melancholy personality when things get rough, despite his generally cheery and kind nature. On another note, Zarc as a villain fascinates me. As far as I understand he initially wanted to simply entertain the crowds (with some possible semi-dormant tendencies to lust after power, feel anger and so on). This shifted I think when the audience, after he hurt someone by accident in a duel, started calling for him to duel more violently thus snowballing the creation of the Zarc we all know and love in the Anime's present (so to speak) time. This would probably cause for some more issues with Yuya given that he also wants to be an entertainer...**

 **That said, I believe Yuya would soon come around to duelling again to bring smiles (using entertainment). First he would duel his friends, I think, and eventually move back into the Professional realm once he was sure of himself again. Yuzu, Gongenzaka, Shuzo and his parents would probably bear the greatest brunt of this. Who knows? I might write some more chapters that cover this plot specifically.**

 **Sorry for the length of time it took to update by the way. The next chapter will probably take a bit longer, if not the same length. As such, I will tell you that the next few chapters will delve into some Appleshipping and general Yugo & Rin shenanigans (I was going to do one with Serena first, but I really wanted to write this duo more). I hope that you will enjoy them when I finally manage to get them up. **

**Please leave a review if you feel so inclined.**


	8. Something to rebuild

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh Arc V, or any of its plot, characters or related franchise.**

 **Hey! Guess whose still alive? Sorry for the (Extremely) late update but university was a killer. I'm on break now though, and I plan to get a bunch of other chapters up (most of them are already half written).**

 **But onto this one: it contains Yugo & Rin mainly, with some Yuzu. Sora also ****_finally_ (albeit briefly) ****graces this story with a few sarcastic lines of his own. ;)**

 **Oh, and a small warning for some language used here. Just a little sprinkling in response to an annoying Fusion user...**

* * *

Rin fiddled with the bracelet on her wrist. It was funny how such a trinket-like thing had such power to stop what was all but a demon from destroying the world not once but twice (albeit with a lot more help the second time round). If she had of known jewelry could defeat monsters…

But it had not been enough to stop her.

"You just need to talk about it."

The green haired girl looked at her Standard counterpart as she spoke.

"He'll listen," Yuzu continued. "And he'll definitely forgive you. I don't think Yugo has it in him to hold any grudge against you."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Rin said burying her face in her hands.

The girl beside her frowned. "What do you mean?"

A shaky breath and alternating, but repeating images flashed through the head of Ray Akaba's Synchro reincarnation. Laughing teeth as a deliberate bump to the head because she was annoyed her only shirt had ripped was ignored. A shaking head rejecting an apology for an unfair accusation of eating the last bread when a hungrier stray had simply gotten in and found it. A waving hand brushing off the dents in a D-wheel made because she had lost to men who had implied it was because she was a _girl_ and not because they had so obviously cheated. All different times and different circumstances, but always the same grin, the same understanding, the same adoration…

 _Too_ forgiving. _Too_ understanding. Who could adore a monster?

"He will always forgive me," Rin cried. "No matter what I do or how much I hurt him!"

"That's not…" Yuzu cut herself off. How could she lie so blatantly to the overbearing face of truth? When the boy they were talking about _would_ forgive his best friend – and all her counterparts – in a heartbeat?

"I don't deserve to be forgiven," Rin continued, sniffing.

"That's not true!" Yuzu said angrily. "You do too! You weren't you! None of us were when we were…"

She trailed off again, this time as she embraced a truth that silenced her. They had been controlled, the four of them, relics of Ray Akaba (and so much more as Shuzo had argued, as all their friends had) forced to do the will of a worm under the pay of Ray Akaba's father. No invasion had been so devastating, so horrendously wrong as that. No crime so criminal than the stripping of one's free will to leave them utterly subject to another's.

Rin turned her head away. "It doesn't matter. I threw Yugo out the window of a _tower_."

"So did Ruri," her Standard counterpart argued. "Kaito forgave her easily enough. Both agreed she wasn't _her_."

"I attacked Yugo with the intent to kill him."

"Ruri and Serna both attacked Yuya…and Yuto." And it was odd, the pink haired girl found, to consider how during that time her closest friend had been the same as that strange knightly boy and yet _not_. "Ruri attacked her own _brother_."

" _You_ didn't attack anyone," Rin pointed out, as though that one fact proved her entire argument.

Yuzu frowned. "I wasn't made to."

"I destroyed our D-wheel…"

This last comment was whispered, as though it were the most heinous of all Rin's crimes. Out of the corner of her eye the green haired girl could see Yuzu bite her lip. She knew the Standard girl knew how important that bike had been to them, to _Yugo_ in the otherwise depressing mess that had been their lives.

 _"This is our ticket out of here, Rin Rin. When we've finished building it nothing will be able to stop us! We'll make it all the way to the top!"_

A shaky hand fiddled with a bracelet once more. The thing was made to stop monsters, so why had it not stopped _her_?

"You need to talk to him," Yuzu said at last, repeating the same phrase for the dozenth time. Yet, there was no weariness in her voice, no frustration, only gentle kindness. Somehow, that made it worse.

Rin bit her own lip. She knew she would have to confront this problem eventually; lack of confrontation was not her style, even if she had never backed down from a fight with reasonable odds (and even a few without. Yugo was not the only one who had had to be dragged away from a situation that would have otherwise ended with him beaten halfway to the moon and back).

But to confront Yugo after what she had done, a _proper_ confrontation and not some adrenaline-fueled thing in the midst of almost dying while dragons raged and merged into a terrifying monster, was a thought that left the Synchro dueler feeling like a coward. Yet another thing Yugo would be disappointed in, if she didn't outright hurt him…

 _No._ Rin's mind fixated on the cards Yuzu was sorting through as they sat out the back of the Sakaki house, the Standard girl preparing for a duel with Yuya. How many times had Rin prepared with her own Zarc counterpart for a duel of their own? How many times had she faced down opponents larger and tougher and more skilled than she without batting an eye other than to roll her eyes at Yugo's endearing stupidity? _I am being unfair to myself. I am_ not _a coward. Even if I am a monster…_

It had not been until she had seen the extent of damage she had done to the bike, after they had settled it into the Sakaki's generously offered garage not two days after the battle with Zarc, that Rin had realised the truth of these words.

 _"This is_ our _ticket out of here…"_

Unconditional forgiveness seemed like a curse.

"Besides," Yuzu's voice came, cutting through the self-depreciating fog in Rin's head. "Yugo's being more of a pain than usual because he thinks he's done something wrong to make you avoid him."

"I haven't-" Rin could not finish that sentence. "He hasn't done anything wrong."

"You need to tell him that."

The green haired girl gave a wry grin. "Where you always this…"

"Wise?" Yuzu asked with a grin of her own.

"Demanding." But Rin's heart was not in the jab. She sighed, fiddling with her bracelet once more. "You're right. I've been avoiding this long enough."

The girl stood, drawing on all of the courage within her, all that heart and soul left from the fearless Akaba she had been split from. Rin inhaled and, with an encouraging nod from Yuzu, made her way towards the garage, that place that had pulled her forever towards it, only second to the pull of a blue-eyed boy.

 _There had been a smile with teeth, wider than any smile he had given her before. Tears had marked both their faces alongside the last dregs of shock and the budding feeling of relief. A hug, together again at last, once more 'us' and 'everyone else'. Then something wrong. So much wrongness…_

Rin's bracelet jingled on her wrist as she walked. Half of her wanted to be wrong about the location of the other half of the word 'us'. The other half knew she never could be, not with how long they had been together, how long they had survived together in a world made to crush all those not made of gold and silver and the haughtiness of the highborn.

Too soon she was at the entrance to the garage. Taking another steading breath ( _monster, monster! You are going to hurt him again!)_ , she stepped inside.

Almost immediately, and with a bout of clumsiness that would be more befitting of Yugo than any of Ray's reincarnations, Rin tripped over a sheet of fiberglass and a discarded helmet in quick succession.

She had forgotten how messy Yugo could be when his mind was focused on making something, be it food or a D-wheel. How many times had she yelled at him to at least shove everything in one corner instead of leaving git strewn around the floor?

And now she couldn't even work up the courage to say hello to the boy crouched beside the symbol of their broken trust, the broken 'us' that laid between them and everything that had happened.

The noise the green haired girl made was loud enough to draw the attention of all those present in the garage. As the banging echoed through the room and Rin regained her balance, Yugo bolted upright. His hand at first swung the tool it held as though it were a weapon before almost dropping it as he saw who was standing before him.

"Rin Rin! What are you doing- I mean, I'm glad to see you! It feels like it's been ages. Not that it has been or that I've been counting the seconds or anything, just that I missed you and I…" Yugo trailed off and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I'm glad to see you."

Rin smiled at him even as her heart broke further apart at the fact that she could have ever hurt such a sweetly rash, loudly caring boy.

"Smooth." The word came out as sweetly sarcastic as a sour drop.

"Are you helping me or insulting me?" Yugo shot back heatedly. "I thought you wanted to learn how to rebuild a D-wheel."

Sora shrugged from where he leaned against the garage bench. He fiddled with the lollypop in his mouth. "If I remember correctly, it was _you_ who begged _me_ to help you finish this thing."

"Thing? _Thing?_ You would call this beautiful piece of machinery a _thing?_ " Yugo gestured to the hunk of metal sitting before him that was currently no more beautiful than a hog wallowing in mud. That did not matter to the experienced mechanic, however. It was the beauty of the future he could see made up by parts seemingly more intrinsically complicated than life. "If you've seen what she can do-"

"Oh, it's a 'she' now is it?" Sora snarked.

"It? Calling her 'it' is worse than calling her a mere 'thing', you bastard!"

"Language," Sora smirked. "You swear almost as much as that overgrown Kurosaki."

"You fucking little-"

Yugo's tirade continued to the soundtrack of the former Fusion soldier's childish cackling, growing louder and more vulgar every passing minute. Rin's teeth grit further and further together with every word. For a moment if seemed as though the swearing boy was glancing at the green haired girl out of the corner of his hilariously wild eyes, seeming as if he was almost…waiting…

Rin could have slapped herself. The notion was ridiculous. Yugo waited for nothing and no one unless he was thumped into submission.

 _What is wrong with me? It's like I_ want _to hurt him. I_ am _a monster!_

Suddenly the annoyed tension in her body drained away to nothingness. Those laughing teeth flashed bright and wide in her head again, grinning madly away as innocently and adoringly as they had always been. How could she have ever laid a hand on the one those teeth belonged to? What excuse could she have had? That they were roughhousing? That he was annoying? That he needed to be kept in line? That sometimes a good thump was the only thing he responded to when trying to knock some common sense into his head?

Yugo deserved so much better than her.

"-AND STAY OUT!"

Fading laughter followed the echoes of the shout, drawing Rin the distance out of her head and back to the reality before her.

"Don't know why I asked that bastard to help me," Yugo muttered to himself. "Kid can't even tell the difference between a torque wrench from an Allen wrench…"

Except that was exactly why Yugo had asked Sora to help and Rin knew it.

 _How-_

"Did you come to help on the bike?" Yugo's hopeful voice pulled Rin from her thoughts.

"No, I-" she said quickly, without thinking. Another pang of pain hit her heart as she watched the Synchro dueler's face fall.

 _See,_ her brain told herself. _You can't help yourself. Hurting him is what you do best._

"Oh." A pause, then: "Did I do something wrong?"

"What? No!"

Yugo fiddled with the tool in his hand before putting it down and turning to face his closest friend (more than friend). "Are you sure? Because you've been…avoiding me, and you only avoid me when I've done something wrong or to make you mad or upset."

The last part was said softly, as though the boy did not want to admit it. But he was not done. Looking up at Rin with large, apologetic and _pure_ eyes, he opened his mouth once more. "Did I upset you? If I did, I'm sorry, Rin. Just tell me what I did."

"You didn't do anything!" And the firm, unyielding Rin was back. "It was me!"

"But-"

"I didn't want to hurt you again," she admitted, cutting the boy off. "Not after…last time."

For a moment there was a pause as Yugo took the words in and Rin struggled to force herself to do what she so rarely did: apologise. For all his brashness, Yugo was the one who apologised most readily out of the two of them. It did not matter what he had done, it didn't even matter if he was in the right, he still was always the first to apologise after an argument of whenever something went wrong. Rin, to her usually reluctant admission, was almost too proud to ever admit when she was wrong let along say sorry.

But now, now she had no choice. _She_ had been in the wrong and _she_ had hurt him, her friend (more than friend – the words drifted somewhat unnoticed in the back of her mind). She had hurt the blue haired, blue eyed boy who was as kind as he was reckless and loved just as much as he tried (and failed) to act tough. What else could she do, but apologise?

 _You are a monster._ Fingers drifted to a bracelet once more.

"I'm sorry," Rin finally said. "For what I did when I was… At Academia. I'm so, so sorry, Yugo."

Another pause saturated the air and for a second Rin thought that this was it, this was the moment when Yugo would see her for what she truly was, a _monster,_ and demand she leave, demand that she never see him again. And she would happily comply, the green haired girl, to every last one of those demands if only it kept him safe from her.

But Yugo was Yugo and not the self-depreciating voice in Rin's head. He was _too_ kind, _too_ forgiving, _too_ understanding. So when he finally spoke, it was not to issue such demands to keep Rin away, but another, softer demand that was meant to reassure.

"Don't worry about it, Rin Rin," the boy said. "We blasted past that a hundred thousand miles ago. Hand me that torque wrench, would you?"

Rin passed over the tool with an incredulous air, fingers hastily returning to her bracelet. "After everything I did… I threw you out a _window._ I _destroyed_ the D-wheel we made together and you can just forgive me like _that_?"

 _A monster. She was a monster. Nothing more to it; a monster who had hurt her closest friend. There was no excuse._

Yugo shrugged almost absently. "Don't need to forgive you. You were crazy, Rin."

 _"What?_ "

"You were possessed by a bug."

It was so blunt and decisive and accurate as it was inaccurate – so essentially Yugo – that Rin could not help but laugh.

"It was a parasite, Yugo," the girl corrected. "And I wasn't possessed, more like controlled."

But as inaccurately accurate as the boy had been, he had succeeded where no one else could. Had made her voice the blatant truth where no else seemed able.

Rin froze up. "I was being controlled." She felt off, wrong. Her mind wouldn't let her think. The words kept on playing over in her head. _I was controlled. I was controlled. I was controlled._

Yugo looked at her sidelong. "Exactly. You weren't my Rin."

There was nothing but fact in his voice, absolute truth that he absolutely believed.

 _I was being controlled._ Rin opened her mouth. "But I-"

"No, you weren't. But you are _now_."

And then the green haired girl remembered another thing about the boy before her, or remembered as much as one could remember something they never forgot: to Yugo the world was simple. No 'maybe' or 'what if' or 'if only'. No 'I tried'. No 'good' or 'bad', even. Just a guy forever in the moment where it was all or nothing, one win away from the next be it scoring food or scoring cards and screw whatever means they had to use to get it. In Yugo's world it had been 'us' and 'the rest of them', 'ourselves first' and 'everyone else second to last' because last was reserved only for those truly against them.

It had been 'we' and 'us' and 'ours' forever and a day.

It had been 'Rin' in its entirety. It still was.

And it had been just as stoutly 'not Rin' in their last duel.

To Yugo the world was simple – if he said that she wasn't her, then she wasn't her.

Rin _had_ forgotten just how stubbornly simple the world could be.

The green haired girl bit her lip. Then she started crying.

"Jeez, Rin Rin, I didn't mean to make you cry," Yugo said frantically, abandoning the project he had been working on like a racecar abandons the number zero. "I'm sorry. Please don't cry. I'm sorry for whatever it was I did! I'll even do all your chores for a month! Promise! Just please don't cry."

That merely made Rin cry harder. It was just like Yugo to think that her upset was because of him (although experience generally dictated that it was exactly the case).

"It's…it's not you," she managed to choke out.

The girl didn't even know what it was that she was crying about. The fact she had been forgiven? The fact she had been controlled by a bug? The fact they now had a house to live with a proper family and a chance to be something more than 'commoners'? Or the fact that Yugo knew not to ask?

"It'll be alright, Rin Rin," the Synchro boy said. "You'll see. Nothing can go wrong now that we're together again."

A beat and then-

"NOT THAT I MEAN THAT WE'RE _TOGETHER_! I MEAN NOT THAT WE'RE TOGETHER ROMANTICALLY, JUST PHYSICALLY LIKE FRIENDS! NOT THAT I WOULD BE OPPOSED TO BEING ROMANTICALLY TOGETHER WITH YOU- _NOT THAT I WANT TO BE ROMANTICALLY WITH YOU RIGHT NOW_ -"

THUMP!

"Breath Yugo," Rin said as she rubbed the newly forming bump on her friend's (more than friend a small voice spoke in the back of her head) head.

The boy gave a nearly sheepish smile. "Sorry, Rin Rin," he mumbled.

The green haired girl narrowed her eyes for a moment, wondering at the not quite authentic expression on Yugo's face. For a moment, just a moment, that space of time the boy seemed to perpetually live in, it seemed that the panicked shouting had been…deliberate.

 _I'm overthinking things again,_ Rin told herself a second later. _Yugo wouldn't manipulate me like that. He doesn't have anything to gain from provoking me. Yeah… It was just Yugo being Yugo._

She punched her friend (more than friend came that insistent little voice) in the arm lightly and then picked up a hammer.

"So," she said as though it were just another day in the common slums of Domino City. "Are we going to fix this bike or what?"

Yugo grinned. "Bet I can finish-"

He stopped abruptly as Rin's finger made its way to his lips.

"How about we race this race together?" she asked. "Just like old times."

"Yeah, together…"

If the response was a bit breathless, neither noticed. They had a bike to fix and the first of many more races to win, content with taking each moment as it came and nothing more or nothing less.

* * *

 **Sorry if the plot/writing is a bit funky and awkward. Trying to get started up again and I managed to write three sections I was happy with then struggled to connect them up. Also didn't help that I haven't actually seen the episodes where the events mentioned here go down in full... In any case, hope you enjoyed it.**

 **This was inspired by a comment from Flockingaround who asked whether I would cover Rin's thoughts on destroying the D-wheel they built together whilst under the influence of that parasite thing. I tied in it with a prompt from Flockingaround also regarding Rin's guilt over hurting Yugo while possessed by parasite and talking to Yuzu about it.**

 **On Rin's character, I figured she would physically express her anger just given what I've seen & know of her. Thus, the incidents in the past where Yugo gets in the way of those expressions. Given that Yugo & Rin only seemed to have each other, I also figured she would have the biggest issue with what she did mind controlled. I could be wrong, but ah well…**

 **On Yugo's character, firstly MANY thanks to Kuroganefang for helping me nut out my ideas! Secondly, I think of all the Yus (and everybody really) he would be the least affected by everything. Not that he wouldn't have the occasional nightmare, BUT to me he seems to be the character who kind of lives in the moment. He doesn't seem to dwell on the past or overly plan for the future. He's probably the most easy going and (healthily) confident of the four too. Likewise I think he would think along simple lines – not that he is an idiot, but rather choose not to overcomplicate or read too deeply into things. More straightforward thinking in a way. Like 'dueling was good before Zarc. Zarc's gone and it is good again/still good' and 'Zarc was Zarc and not me' and 'You were possessed by a bug Rin, that wasn't you.' Yes he would have his doubts, but yeah…**

 **There is another chapter that focuses on Appleshipping that I want to write, but I want to finish some other chapters first. And yes they contain the Xyz trio. ;) But they are part of a mini story arc and also contain the Bracelet girls, the other Yu boys (especially focusing on Yuri) and Yoko and Yusho.**

 **And on a final note, I have a favour to ask. What job would you imagine the following as having when they are adults: Serena, Sora, Ruri (I have half an idea for her, but not sure) and Yuri (I figured something where Reiji could keep an eye on him). I've got the others covered. It's for a future focused one shot based on this story/AU.**

 **Anyway, hope you enjoy this and please review! They remind me that I have a story I have to update. ;)**


	9. Something to surrender to

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh Arc V, or any of its plot, characters or related franchise.**

 **A quick update to make up for the extremely long one for last chapter... -_-'**

 **Mama bird's back in this one, along with the bracelet girls (although Serena kind of took over in collaboration with Ruri... ;) It takes place** **several days to a week after ' _Something to run to'_ and the events here are kind of a result of what happened in that chapter (i.e. Shun potentially has Yuto to blame for his condition; remember how he had a cold at the end of the chapter… ;) **

**I apologise for the rough quality of this chapter in advance.**

* * *

He emerged from his room like the last of the dodos might have emerged from its place of safety into what it knew without a doubt would be the place of its demise. A blanket was draped around his shoulders, dragging on the floor like a pair of too-large wings. The distinctly un-charming sound of a snorting sniff echoed awkwardly through the air as he tried to simultaneously exhale and clear his nose.

Shun would have yelled to the world that he was going to kill his best friend if not for the thought that would have immediately followed taunting him that Yuto had already died. On _his_ watch. While he had stood by and _watched._ Such a thought certainly would have worked better than any cold shower to drive away the grogginess the damn illness had given him.

Instead, images of his drenched and very much _alive_ friend climbing through the window in his room in the Hiragi household only several nights before circled the painful shards of his mind.

 _Why, why, why did he lack the common sense to use an umbrella?_ The question did nothing to help the Lancer's pounding head. At least he was lucky that Ruri seemed to have escaped their stupid friend's equally stupid cold.

Shun went to sneeze and then made a strangled choking noise as his body refused to follow through with the sensation. He was left with a notably uncomfortable feeling in his nose and a stream of mucus dripping from it in an annoying imitation of a well-working tap.

Perhaps he would have to adjust his definition of luck.

The tall Kurosaki bird itched where he had tied familiar red fabric around his wrist to sleep. Like hell he was going to take it off though. Among other things it was a subtle bird to the face for Leo Akaba, that Fusion bastard Yuto lived with (an arrangement Shun was still very much against however begrudgingly he had been forced to allow it), the other Fusion bastard Yuto lived with who Shun was less likely to kill but still more than willing to flip the bird at, and all things Fusion in general bar a certain halfway decent counterpart he lived with.

Shun smiled vindictively. That thought made him feel just a little better. Certainly better than thoughts of graves with red wound round them would. With luck, Yuto would have managed to infect both Fusion bastards as well. Not that his luck ever turned out that well. (He'd be damned, though, if he would let Luck have its way and never would he trust it to look after what was his. Experience was a fine teacher; failure was an even better one.)

The sick Kurosaki sniffed and cursed his best friend's stupidity once more.

"You look like something that death warmed over threw up and then threw out!"

"Thanks Serena," Shun ground out, continuing to force his feet forward. He just had to make it to the couch where he could grab the TV remote and stew in his sorrows in peace.

"Wow, you must be really sick to not have a better comeback to that." Serena eyed the male as he managed to cover another few inches towards his goal. "Does your sister know you are out of bed?"

"No, and it's going to stay that way for at least the next hour," Shun said irritably. "Here's an idea: why don't you go and annoy her?"

Serena grinned and leaned against the hall wall. "You know, if you really don't want her to find out your disobeying her orders for the next hour you really should be nicer to me."

The object of her torment simply grunted and shuffled a little further along.

"At that pace you're going to get to the loungeroom several hundred years from now. Why not save yourself the trouble and go back to bed?"

Shun reconsidered his earlier thoughts on who he would readily and willingly flip the bird to. Right now the count of Fusion users had increased in number by one.

"You know, I really should film this," said the added one. "Sora would love to see you acting like an old decrepit man. You'd never hear the end of it!"

" _You_ were never going to let me hear the end of it anyway," Shun tossed back. The pounding in his head seemed to worsen for his efforts.

"Really though," Serena frowned. "What are you doing up? You look like you're about to faint."

The Kurosaki grit his teeth. "If I have to stay there for another minute I'll-"

"What do you think you're doing up?"

Shun could have groaned at the sudden manifestation of his sister's pink haired lookalike. As it was, he did groan inaudibly as his aching head pounded that little bit harder. For a moment the world seemed to tilt on its side.

"Just help me get to the couch," he ground out, more annoyed that he was reduced to asking for help from his current tormentor and the girl who would just as likely to severely berate him for getting up in the first place.

Without a word Serena stepped to her fellow Lancer's side and supported his sagging frame, somewhat awkwardly given their difference in height. Together they continued forward from where Shun had been forced to stop, pausing only once as a cough wracked the tall bird's body.

Yuzu flitted about in front, alternately scolding him for getting up (as he knew she would) and ensuring his pathway was clear least his weary, traitorous feet should endeavor to trip themselves up on something. At some point several blankets had appeared in her arms like magic. The only explanation given was that he should at least be comfortable if he was going to continue his stubborn pursuit of sitting on the couch.

Some part of Shun loved the caring attention and was grateful for the chance to be on the receiving end of it rather than the one giving it to his chicks (not that he would ever begrudge them that care nor regret having given it; they were his and without anyone else to provide such care, and they had always returned his care with just as devout care of their own – in that much he had never been alone). That part of him, however, had been long since buried by soreness and tiredness and just plain irritableness the second hour into developing a cold.

Was it too much to ask to simply walk from his room to the couch without being set upon by any number of situations that would love to make him the butt of their jokes?

It seemed the universe, at least, thought it was.

Not a minute after stepping into the Hiragi's lounge room the ill Xyz duelist was greeted by a severely twitching eyebrow. Ruri, it was safe to say, was not pleased in the slightest.

"You had better be sleepwalking, dearest brother of mine," she said with no small amount of ominous threatening. As bad as he was feeling, Shun could not help but be proud.

"Nope," Serena answered for him, ever ready to throw him under the metaphorical bus when it came to his spitfire sister. "The idiot thought it would be a good idea to take a walk to the couch."

If he wasn't feeling so bad, Shun would at least attempt to put the Fusion user in a headlock for that. As it was, she had already begun the process of pushing him onto the couch. Not a moment later Ruri descended upon her brother like a sparrow on an unsuspecting worm.

"I'm fine, Ruri," the older of the two Kurosaki siblings tried.

"Just sick," came the younger one's curt response. She felt his forehead tenderly all the same. "You don't really have a temperature…"

"See?" Shun smirked. Then he devolved into another coughing fit.

"See?" Ruri smirked back once he had caught his breath. The male simply glared at her in response.

"Here, wrap these around you," Yuzu broke in as she dumped the blankets on top of the ones the sick bird already had. "And _don't_ get up for anything. If you need something, Serena can get it for you."

"Hey! What did I do to become his personal slave?"

"What didn't you do," Shun said dryly, sniffing.

"I'm still not a slave." Serena had not said no outright though, that alone enough to show her concern for her sick comrade and (dare either of them admit it?) friend.

"Listen to Yuzu and do as she says, brother," Ruri said, cutting the budding argument short.

Shun winced internally at the continued use of the word 'brother'. It seemed his sister was still mad at him, likely quietly biding her time simmering away before tearing him a new one.

"Anything for you," he replied softly before she drew completely away. If it was as much a reminder of a promise made when their world had fallen around their ears as a placation, neither remarked on it. Shun, however, _did_ frown when his sister did not sit next to him as expected but rather make her way towards the front door in the hall. "Where are you going?"

"To see Yuto," Ruri answered. "He is at least as sick as you."

Ah. That made sense in Shun's muddled head. He made to rise. "I'm coming with you."

"No, you are not."

It was sad how easily Serena managed to push his larger frame back onto the couch. It was annoying how his little sister grinned at the sight.

"I thought you were my slave, not my prison guard," Shun said.

Serena shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a girl of many talents."

"Pissing me off being the main one," Shun muttered to himself. "Let me up."

"No."

"You need to rest," came Yuzu's kindly voice.

"Let me up, Serena."

"Not a chance in hell."

Shun wondered if all Fusion users who were halfway decent and had some inkling of which side was, in actual fact, _good_ had a preset level of sarcasm and insults or whether it was just his bad luck that the only Fusion users he knew more intimately than the all-purpose term 'bastards' were bent on annoying him every chance they got. Either way, it seemed the cold had stolen that hard glint from his glare rendering his efforts to intimate Serena into something that simply made the girls present coo at him in a patronising way.

"You can't stop me from getting off this couch to see Yuto," he growled as much as one could while sniffing.

"Ah, but you promised to do as Yuzu said, brother," Ruri replied. "And she said for you to stay on that couch."

 _("I promise."_ Naïve words none of them should have ever said.)

The girl blinked at him with those pink tinged eyes of hers, all deceptively innocent and not at all reminiscent of the malicious sibling she could be. Shun grimaced. He was tired. His head hurt. His throat was killing him. He wanted to rip his nose off of his face and use it to assault the things from his nightmares (even _those_ vicious grins could not be sustained when attacked with an unlimited stream of mucus). And he was being imprisoned on a couch while his sister wandered off alone to play nursemaid to their sicker friend.

 _("I don't like you going out alone."_

 _"What am I supposed to do, Shun? Sit here and twiddle my thumbs? We need supplies and everyone else is tied up dealing with the aftermath of the last attack."_

 _"She's right, you know," a ghostlike voice had said._

 _But right did not mean safe. Oh, how that had been proven when he had sat up all night waiting for her to return, Yuto by his side as he always was, only to realise with growing horror that his little sister had not returned.)_

Luck was a fickle thing that had never seemed to fly his way.

"I'll give you an update when I get back," Ruri reassured her brother, having seen the defeated shadow that had crossed his face. She flittered back to place a kiss upon his creased brow. "Don't worry. I'll be fine."

"Take your deck with you," he said. "And your duel disk."

"Always," she smiled, the expression a little bittersweet but fond.

"And call when you get there."

"Shun…"

"Ruri."

"Alright," she conceded with a sigh. "I will call you when I get there."

Another quick brush of lips against a reluctant forehead and the young Kurosaki left, leaving Serena and Yuzu to watch over her sick brother.

"You don't need to stare at me the entire time she is gone," he ground out eventually when neither girl showed any desire to move.

"I disagree," Serena said even as she dropped down beside him on the couch and grabbed the remote. "You're a definite flight risk if I ever saw one. What's on TV?"

Yuzu continued standing as her Fusion counterpart flicked from channel to channel in a futile attempt to find one program that redeemed daytime television. Shun, however, had given up caring. The low drone of a monotone news anchor from some ungodly station coupled with a sudden attack of exhaustion and being surrounded by those with his little sister's face (even if they were not his little sister themselves) had the teenager's eyes drooping closed.

The Kurosaki could tell that Serena wanted to say something, some snide remark that would have his pride bristling and his need to win rising to the challenge, but he could also tell how she reigned herself in. It was a considerate gesture on the Fusion user's part, one that Shun's tired and hurting brain very much appreciated. Still, he would not give in to sleep until he knew his sister was safe (or as safe as she could be in a world that created monsters who raised more monsters to do their bloody bidding).

For a long while (too long, the increasing anxiety in his chest told him as it worried over one lonesome chick and another sick one) the time passed somewhat peacefully. Shun continued to glide in a state that was not quite a doze, but not full wakefulness either.

Serena sat beside him content to watch the news turned shopping show she had finally settled one. The only change was Yuzu's disappearance, the pink haired girl finally leaving her arguably most aggressive lookalike to watch their 'flight risk'. As drowsy as Shun was, it turned out to be a unusually undemanding task.

Until the phone rang anyway.

"I'll get it," Serena said as she wrestled her fellow Lancer back onto the couch. "You worry too much."

Still, the Fusion user was almost as fast as the cats in her deck as she ran the phone from its holder to the Kurosaki on the couch. For a moment she stood, one finger held up as she conversed into the phone with what was apparently Ruri.

"Yeah, he's been good. No, I haven't had to kick his ass, yet anyway. You know it's bound to happen given you obviously got the brains in your family." Serena smirked at Shun's growing irritableness. "Hang on, I better put him on before he rips my arm off."

The yellow eyed teenager almost did just that as he snatched the phone from Serena's extended hand. "Ruri?"

"Hello, brother," his little sister answered pleasantly. "How are you feeling?"

"How are you?" Shun asked back, his need to know her condition overriding any chance of processing the words she had spoken.

"I'm fine, Shun." Her exasperated sigh drove the point home. "How are _you_?"

"What do you think?"

"Obviously you aren't better or else you wouldn't be so grouchy," Ruri said. Her brother could almost swear he heard her smiling. "Look, do you want me to put Yuto on the line? He just woke up."

"Thanks," Shun sniffed. His sister knew him and his anxieties too well.

There was the sound of a phone exchanging hands, an unusually noisy process that seemed to involve a dog barking and several swear words in a familiar voice (and Yuto said that him and Ruri were bad at swearing, Shun thought with a grin). Ringing laughter from another familiar voice (one Shun had waited too long to hear again, and had almost been driven mad in that waiting) in the background failed to hurry matters along. The oldest Kurosaki child waited silently, if not patiently.

"En, get down," a hoarse voice finally drifted faintly over the line. "Hello?"

"Don't get my sister sick," Shun growled with as much relief at hearing his best friend's voice as warning.

"I'll try not to," Yuto replied dryly. "How are you?"

"No better than you."

There was a pause as Yuto appeared to attempt to muffle his coughs. Anxiety sparked once more in Shun's chest. The fact he could not physically see his friend only worsened matters.

"Only half dead than?" his friend finally replied.

"No thanks to you." The sick Kurosaki winced after he said it. No doubt Yuto would take that as a cue to blame himself. _Well, if we are going down that train of thought…_ "Next time remember an umbrella when you go out in the rain."

Yuto coughed again, his voice too breathy when it finally came. "Like Ruri will let me forget one after this."

Shun bit his lip. "You should get some rest."

"All I've been doing is resting," his grey eyed charge laughed.

"Yuto."

"Fine." Ruri was not the only one who had perfected a sigh of exasperation. "But so should you."

"Don't worry. I'll make sure he does," Serena said, tearing the phone from Shun's hand as his brain began to cloud over once more, refusing to form a reply. She ignored the huff of anger from the sick bird and continued speaking. "Put Ruri on, would you? I've got to ask her about what she wants me to feed her brother for lunch."

"I'm not an invalid." Shun's mutter was also ignored.

For several minutes the former rebel listened to the blue haired girl's one sided conversation with his sister. In that time he was subjected to a coughing fit of his own, ending with him having to rub his watery eyes to remove the blur from his vision. By this point Shun had well and truly sunk into the confines of the couch, as good as swallowed by the piece of furniture for all he was able to get up off of it.

A phone suddenly materialised in his vision once more.

"Your sister wants to speak to you before she goes," Serena said.

Shun accepted the phone wordlessly. "Yes?"

"Yuto fell asleep."

The oldest Kurosaki waited for his sister to continue. She did not disappoint.

"I'm worried about him, Shun," Ruri admitted. The 'and you' went unspoken.

"He'll be fine," her brother responded. "And so will I. It's just a cold. Is Yoko or Yusho home?"

"No. They went out to get groceries. …Yuri's here though." She must have felt him tensing through the phone at the wariness in her voice. "Don't worry, he's sick too so he's locked himself in his room - they think he caught Yuto's cold."

 _That_ , Shun thought to himself, _is ironic_. For all the Fusion bastard had hunted down the inhabitants of Heartland boasting of his many victories, he had been laid low by a common cold from one of them. Still, the teenager would prefer it if his best friend was not sick at all. And if he was not living with the psychopath who had kidnaped his little sister.

"Besides," said little sister continued. "Yuya and Yugo are here as well. So's Reiji Akaba. He wanted to discuss something with Yuya and Yusho."

Shun felt a little of his tension leave. At least the one good Akaba, and fellow Lancer, would ensure his sister's safety, if not happiness.

"Alright," he said reluctantly. "But you call me if anything happens. And I mean _anything,_ Ruri." Namely if a certain Fusion bastard attacked her or Yuto.

"I promise. Now get some sleep. I'll be back in a little while. I want to talk to Yoko once she gets back." No doubt to get the true details of Yuto's condition.

"Stay safe," was all Shun said.

"I will." With that, the phone disconnected.

"Here." Serena made to take the phone but Shun simply threw it down on the couch beside him.

"Leave it."

She did.

Shun sniffed, cursing his nose once more. He barely acknowledged Serena as she sat down beside him once more, eyes once again focused on the television. Not too long after he fell asleep.

It was banging from the kitchen that woke him and had him cursing his once more throbbing head.

Shun groaned.

Once he was better the oldest Kurosaki was going to go to the nearest umbrella shop, buy out all of its umbrellas and personally attach each and every one of them to his best friend (who would then, knowing him, proceed to give them all away to the homeless and strays thus _still_ getting drenched and sick, then pass that sickness onto _him_ ). Until then the former rebel would content himself with the earful that Yuto would get once again from his sister for his idiotic actions resulting in an idiotic cold.

At least Shun hoped it was a mere cold and not another casual water induced stroll his grey eyed charge had decided to take towards the horrible thing known as pneumonia.

 _Damn frog…_

Perhaps he _would_ join Ruri at the Sakaki household just to ensure his friend was still breathing.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Two hands shoved him roughly back onto the couch before two more swooped in to adjust the blanket around him in such a way that it artistically left the older Kurosaki sibling devoid of any chance to move.

Shun glared up at Serena's grinning face and Rin's not so innocent smile.

"Let me up," he growled. If they didn't have his sister's face… And if he could get his arms free. As it was he could barely wriggle an inch. "You didn't have to wrap the blanket so tight."

"Eat this."

Hot soup almost splashed onto his lap as Serena shoved a bowl of it towards him, ignoring his complaint with a grin.

"Careful," Rin scolded, most likely the one to have cooked it.

Shun eyed it warily. Somehow he did not think Serena, at least, was above drugging him back into the land of dreams or another weird place for her amusement. His stomach rebelled at the thought of food in general. "I'm not hungry."

"Too bad," his sister's annoying Fusion lookalike replied. "Your sister says you need to eat and so do we."

"Please?" A calculated plea on Rin's part, none of Ray's reincarnations having been skipped over on the original's careful plotting.

Shun raised an eyebrow at her, trying and failing to pull free of the blanket pinning him down to make a point. "How am I supposed to eat with-"

He almost chocked as a spoon was shoved into his mouth, effectively cutting him off.

"Come on now, open wide for the next one," Serena grinned.

"I'm not-"

More almost choking.

"Oh, don't give me that look. It's good soup."

Shun did not ease up on his withering glare. Nor did he deign to open his mouth again, not even when Serena and the offending bowl and spoon had backed away a substantial amount.

"Fine, be that way," the girl said. "You'll have to open your mouth and eat eventually."

"And when I do I'll be feeding myself," Shun replied dryly. He may or may not have shut his mouth quickly after when Serena threatened him with the spoon once more.

Maybe he should have stayed in bed after all. Or better yet, never shown signs of life to begin with.

With a sigh and a sniff, a curious combination to say the least, the Lancer ran one weary hand down his face. "Can you not just leave me alone?"

Rin frowned and so did Serena, both looking hurt. Shun sighed again. He was seriously reconsidering this whole 'living' thing (or at least until a flash and static filled cameras filled his head, an abandoned duel disk taking their place before a procession of wood and red, red, red followed…).

"We just want to look after you," Rin said softly.

It hurt Shun to look, to see the sadness on a face that was so much like his sister's. But she was not his sister, neither of them were, so he stayed stubbornly silent.

At least until he was forced to sneeze.

The chorus of 'bless you' faded as Serena took in the conflicted and, as typical, angry expression on her comrade's face as he once more failed to free himself of the blanket. "What?"

"I need to blow my nose," the sick Kurosaki ground out.

A hand moved to his face, holding a tissue over his nose in as impertinently a manner as possible.

"Well? Blow."

Shun wondered if they would say it was because she was a Fusion user and former member of Academia or just plain infuriating when they trialed him as her murderer. He then wondered if Kaito would help him swing a temporary insanity plea drawing on both reasons. Ruri would not as she, for some inconceivable reason, had taken a liking to Serena. Yuto wouldn't have a chance to because he would already be long incapacitated (but not dead, not again, never again) for putting Shun in this position in the first place.

He attempted a sniff and cursed as the streams of mucus just dripped straight back out. Having no other choice, the sick bird blew.

"Do you need another tissue?" Serena asked.

"No."

If it had been anyone else, any other Fusion user, Shun would have been fighting tooth and nail to get free. The duel disk he had (foolishly, too foolishly) left in his room would have been already manifested itself in his hands and a Raid Raptor or Revolution Falcon or both manifested at his side. As it was, the one standing cockily in front of him was Serena, the bearer of his little sister's face, fellow Lancer and the only person who had originated from Academia that he would trust as far as he could throw.

For a moment the seventeen year old wondered what he would have done if the girl before him had first faced him on the ruins of Heartland rather than an action field's mirage of the same once thriving city. The violent shudder that ran through him was the only answer he needed.

 _"Ruri would never use Fusion summoning."_

An image of a parasitic card in his sister's deck put there by a parasitic (or simply _sick_ ) man contented with Yuto's words in his head. It was simple to know which idea was blatantly, painfully wrong.

As it was, Shun welcomed the distraction a sudden fit of coughing allowed him. It was more tiring than he had anticipated and, being surprisingly comfortable in his own human burrito despite being also imprisoned, the Xyz duelist once more found himself fading into a dreamless sleep as two worried voices murmured above him.

His head throbbed less this time round when he woke, perhaps due to the lack of noise that echoed through the house. Serena had disappeared from his side, a fact the ex-rebel was unsure whether he was happy with. Rin and Yuzu were nowhere to be found.

 _Finally, alone._ Again, the oldest Kurosaki was unsure whether he was happy with that fact.

Trying and failing to move yet again, Shun _did_ know he was distinctly _unhappy_ to still be trapped in the blanket. It felt like he was a giant caterpillar. Or a sausage roll. Not to mention the high vulnerability that came with being unable to move…

 _("You've got to move!"_

 _Shun had not ever heard Yuto's voice so desperate._

 _"I can't lift this by myself. Please! You have to! For Ruri, if not for me."_

 _Shun had frowned, not at the pain that coursed through his body from having a wall fall atop him, but at his friend's words. 'I would do anything for either of you; never believe that I wouldn't' – the words did not come out as anything more audible than a groan. He_ hurt. _And the hurt was making his mind confused._

 _"Shun, we can't stay here. You need to shift so that I can move the slab on top of you."_

 _Serious, always so serious since the invasion. Yet, Shun could not fault his friend. They were all the same now, serious and angry._

 _Anger. He felt angry. So very angry every minute of every waking moment, a coursing red that ran through his veins like blood, only hotter. It drove him as even life failed to do, fixed him on his path and made sure his steps did not falter as he did what he had to to ensure that those in his care survived._

 _Yes, that anger was good. It could cut through confusion and pain sharper than any knife. Shun shifted against the stone, but he had found he could not move. He was trapped. Trapped with the echoes of footsteps coming towards them._

 _"Yuto, leave me," he had commanded._

 _"Never." Grey eyes had never looked so hard, not even when facing the enemy._

 _"Yuto? Why are you still- Shun!"_

 _The footsteps were a friend, for once. But even then, Shun had been unable to stop the shaking that consumed him, the only blasted movement he could make. If Kaito had been an enemy or a dozen and Yuto left alone to fight them off, refusing to abandon his done for friend trapped beneath the rubble… No, Shun had sworn to never be so vulnerable again.)_

Shun closed his eyes and inhaled through his nose, trying to steady himself. Within the blanket's confines he fisted his hands, feeling the roughness of red fabric upon his skin and taking comfort in it. The ex-rebel also took comfort in turning his mind from memories to thoughts of future revenge on the one who had burrito wrapped him with ease. What was it about the only good Fusion users that invoked their undying desire to annoy him?

A door suddenly slammed and Shun looked up as his sister stormed into the room. Relief from seeing her safe and unharmed warred with confusion at the mood she wore, a mood more typically worn by him.

"What-"

"Yuto's got the flu," she growled.

Shun frowned. Then he reared back as best he could in his blanket prison as Ruri leapt atop him and started poking at every exposed body part seriously and no small bit angrily.

" _You_ don't have the flu, do you?"

"No! Now get off," Shun said. "And let me up!"

As was becoming annoyingly usual, Ruri paid no heed to his command.

(It had still been usual in those rare moments where their guard had dropped and they had dared to let a smile grace the dust choked air, her leaping on top of him or otherwise annoying him, convincing Yuto to do the same while Shun warned his friend off with a mock furious gaze. Those moments had always ended too soon with Academia soldiers launching attacks on them or them moving to attack Academia soldiers or dashing to aid those who had barely survived attacks by said soldiers.

Rare and brief; two words that described those moments perfectly. Shun was only too glad, too ineffably glad that now his sister could create as many of those moments as she wanted. Even if it would still only take a desperate order from him to hide to break the fragile moments once more in place of immediate obedience…

Yes, he was glad that she could have those moments.)

"Ruri, I would know if I had the flu."

"Yuto didn't."

"Yuto probably did and didn't tell anyone," Shun shot back. "Besides, I'm not Yuto."

"No, you're you." With that, his little sister intensified her poking to an almost bruising rate.

Shun flailed about as best he could, which was actually an impressive amount considering how good Serena's human burrito wrapping skills were.

"Ruri, get off!" he complained, near wailed like any older sibling being set upon by their younger one would. "I _don't_ have the flu!"

Finally, _finally_ the seventeen year old managed to get an arm free and wasted no time in placing it on his sister's face. Fingers digging perhaps a little painfully into skin, he pushed against Ruri's determined (and now somewhat affronted and angry) expression. Shun's other arm was quick to follow the pathway to freedom, both long limbs now struggling to hold off the one certain friends had often admitted was like a furious songbird, equally long legs tangling in the pathetic remains of a blanket cocoon.

"Stay still, dammit!" Ruri half panted, half yelled. "You do this to me all the time! Why can't you accept a taste of your own overprotective medicine?"

Her only answer was a serious of grunts and sniffs, accompanied by one or two hacking coughs, as her brother continued his struggle to freedom. Caught up in the flipped version of what was typically a mother bird trying to determine the health of a reluctant chick, neither sibling noticed three others entering at an alarmed speed to the racket. As it was, the youngest of the two strugglers had her brother in a head lock with her legs, whilst struggling to right herself from where she hung upside down on the couch. For his part, Shun was still trying to free his legs and, for some strange reason, his head now too from the hopelessly tangled blanket whilst never removing his hand from his sister's face.

Ruri froze when Serena's laughter registered in her head. Her brother did not and that was how she ended up on the floor, a flustered older Kurosaki half panting, half wheezing, definitely smirking and with his nose fully dripping hanging over the top of her from the couch.

Then Shun broke into a coughing fit that had all four girls hovering over him, settling him back on the couch, speaking reassuringly in his ear, and alternating between thumping and rubbing his back.

"You really shouldn't exert yourself like that," Rin chided as Yuzu offered him a glass of water.

Shun just tried to burry himself in the crevice of the couch. Too many hands and too many voices for his too greatly pulsing head. Where was Ruri? Where was his little-

"I'm right here brother."

That voice. The voice he had missed so much in those dark days without it, the voice he had missed more than even that of his martyred best friend ( _still alive, Yuto is still alive_ ). He grabbed at the voice's hand even as it beat back other hands that were similar, but never the same.

 _(He had cried that night, after he came round from Yuto's punch._

 _"She's not Ruri," Yuto had said. "She's not your little sister."_

 _And like that, for a moment, the little hope he held had spluttered out and died.)_

Sniffing, Shun pulled Ruri into him, sniffing again as he buried his face in her hair.

"…Did you just get _snot_ in my hair?

"Gross," Serena laughed as Yuzu and Rin pulled faces.

"You're next," Shun growled at the Fusion user.

The blue haired girl stuck her tongue out at him even as she danced her way out of his grasping hand.

"I think not," she snarked. "You couldn't catch me even in full health."

"Don't antagonise him when he's sick," Yuzu scolded as Ruri held her brother back, grinning.

"You're just like Yugo," Rin sighed as Serena stuck her tongue out once more.

"Don't compare me to him! I'm a lot less clumsy and a lot smarter!"

"Hey! Yugo's plenty smart!"

"You would know, with the crush you have on him."

"I don't- It's not-" Blushing fiercely, Rin pursued a cackling Serena out of the room.

Shun grimaced. For a moment the Lancer had reminded him disturbingly of Sora. One sweet sucking, sarcastic fiend in his life was more than enough.

"I should probably go and break up their fight," Yuzu mumbled, excusing herself from the room.

The two siblings on the couch watched her go without a word.

"So, Yuto has the flu?" Shun asked, turning back to his sister.

"Yeah. Yoko said the doctor said he should be fine in the next week, though."

The elder Kurosaki frowned. Even so, it was still not good news.

The little bird at his side shifted. "Are you sure-"

"Plenty sure, little sister," Shun said, smiling fondly at the girl. "I just have a bad cold. That's all."

"You probably didn't get the cold from him, then," Ruri said thoughtfully. "Unless his cold turned into the flu, in which case you did. But that's unlikely."

There was no need to clarify the 'him' his sister was referring to. The underlying threat to beat some sense into a certain flu ridden head at every reference to the grey eyed boy was identification enough.

Shun burrowed further into his nest of blankets with a huff. It did not matter if Ruri's logic was right, the next time he saw his young friend he would still be demonstrating the extent of his gratitude for being rendered sick and at the mercy of four forceful girls.

And attaching umbrellas to him. He would not forget the umbrellas.

 _(That had been a bad night, of all the bad nights that had lately been, when the grey eyed boy was too tired and sore to move and take up his shift at watch. Scouting in the rain the previous day and collecting supplies all week as winter's air had begun to blow in the near shelter-less ruins of Heartland had afflicted his young friend with something more subtly sinister than a duel._

 _He had sat that night, the oldest Kurosaki, passing a wet cloth over his feverish friend's head. Water was precious, but good fighters were even more so and most of the people in the shelter knew Yuto as a knightly shadow who came when needed to protect above all else. Ruri was gone in search of food, medicine and survivors leaving Shun to care for their sick comrade._

 _It had not been a pleasant thought that said comrade might fade like his phantom deck before his sister's return._

 _A bad night and a long night, followed by several more long nights after when Yuto could not muffle his coughs enough to keep from waking his friend. Yet, what could any of them do? They were bound to get sick living as they were. The best Shun could do was hope that his friend pulled through.)_

No, he would not forget the umbrellas. Or the setting of severely scolding girls onto him as revenge.

Shun sniffed with what could have been mistaken as malicious pleasure at the futuristic visions in his head. An equally wariness-inducing cough followed. A large 'Beware of Bird' sign would not have been out of place around his neck. The Lancer was half sure that one was already hanging there, courtesy of the house's main Fusion dueler.

He sighed as contentedly as a sick bird could as Ruri snuggled further into his side.

Yes, by the time he was through he would ensure that Yuto never forgot a damn umbrella again.

* * *

 **This turned out longer than I thought it would, mainly thanks to the relationship I've created between Shun and Serena (I reckon the two of them would be friends, even if they never admit it, given they were both Lancers and have been through the whole Zarc, etc. incident together). In any case, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Apologies again for the rough quality.**

 **On another note, the next chapter will continue along this mini story arc in this series. It'll be set a little before, mainly focusing on Yuri. Please leave a review if you feel so inclined! And thanks to those who reviewed last chapter! :) I love receiving them!**


	10. Something to accept

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh Arc V, or any of its plot, characters or related franchise.**

 **So I'm not dead... Sorry about the long wait - I will try to get a few more chapters up in the next few months (Christmas is coming up and I've got some other writing that is taking priority, but I swear I won't abandon this fic for as long again).**

 **Following the last one shot, I'm delving back into Yuri for this one. Yusho and Yuya also feature (and so does the chick mama bird currently wants to get revenge on). This is set just before the last one shot: ' _Something to surrender to'_ (i.e. Yuto and his lack of umbrellas are to blame once again). **

* * *

It was impossible. Unfeasible. Implausible. Illogical. Ludicrous. Impossible. Completely and utterly _impossible._

Or so Yuri kept telling himself for whenever he pieced together the facts in his head the result always turned out the same: it was _impossible._

Sick. He was sick.

 _It is an abomination._

The teacup in front of Yuri was empty, mocking the pink haired boy in such a way that no one else would dare. His head throbbed steadily, long since past the forgetful relaxation that had come with losing himself in a careful brew of leaves and dried fruit (there were more types of tea available in this dimension, the only thing it had going for it – aside from certain pets and curiously warm smiles from even stranger women). He sniffed as delicately as one could ever sniff and winced internally at the sound.

To think that _this_ is what he had been reduced to, snorting like a pig.

One hand reached out to absently scratch at the feline purring on the table in front of him. It was like the creature could sense his sickness, his weakened state, a highly unpleasant thought. It was clear that…Core the Sakaki's called her, was an intelligent being. So why had she not attacked him in his vulnerability?

 _Because an inferior animal would clearly not think of such a thing._ Yuri felt a little better for thinking that.

He had been excused from chores the night before, when his…condition had become apparent to the others in the house. That in itself was both a blessing and a curse: on one hand, he did not have to lower himself to cleaning floors and doing dishes, and on the other it meant he had joined his least favourite counterpart as bearing the status of an invalid.

Strong people were not invalid. Yuri had never been invalid in his life.

Until now.

Or so he would let them think, the boy reassured himself. Control was key to victory, and manipulation key to control. He would let these people think he was weak, that he needed help while he bided his time and found a duel disk…

(He would not admit that Yoko Sakaki's hand had felt good on his forehead, motherly almost in the same way he had mothered his plants back at Academia, when she had checked for a temperature. The action had confused him, or more so his reaction to it. He had leaned into it, _leaned into_ the touch like a starving beast that would absorb every ounce of… What exactly?

And therein lied the confusion. It was clear his actions portrayed the idea he was starving, but starving for what? To be touched? He hated being touched by anyone except when he initiated it, and he initiated it rarely for a reason. So it was something else. Yoko's smile perhaps? But she had not smiled at him that small, warm, _intoxicating_ curve of her lips. Rather, a small frown had curved her forehead, something like…concern set inside the creases.

Concern was a weakness indeed, but that woman was a rose. Weak, but strong. To be respected. Perhaps even feared.

But Yuri feared no one for no one would ever match him in his skills. And questions of fear did not answer his original question. Nor did it alleviate the strange disappointment he had felt in that same moment when she had relieved him of his duties of the house, the same duties he used to please her, to take that warmth she so readily gave.

The touch had felt nice, good even and Yuri wanted more as hungrily as he had wanted to have everyone in cards at his feet.)

A paw battered Yuri's hand, pulling the appendage closer to where Core laid. The boy obliged and absently scratched the hollow between the cat's cheek jaw and ear receiving a purr of contentment for his efforts. It was one of the nicer sounds he had heard the former Fusion soldier had long since decided, all rumbling and rough and calm and strangely graceful in its consistent, erratic nature. It was better than the shrieks of those confounded birds that had flew outside his window in Academia before they had learnt to avoid said window. It was, perhaps, even as great as the shrieks of those he had conquered and inevitably put into a card.

Once again a paw demanded and a boy readily obliged. Yuri sniffed.

To be sick – that was a weakness reserved only for the weak, for the pathetic and hopelessly vulnerable. For the scum who was now holed up in his room, almost crippled by the illness he had succumbed to.

The pink eyed boy sniffed again and rethought his previous conclusions on his current condition. Perhaps he was not sick after all, or at least only a little besot by illness; it was the only thing that made sense. He could think clearly enough, even if his thoughts seemed to be dragging for one reason or another. The moves he made in the duels in his own head came as swiftly as they had ever (though the last move that followed all Yuri's victories was always hindered, left to come lagging behind each defeat if it came behind at all, a rose's warm smile the interferer. Or perhaps it was simply that the boy had been unable to practice even once in the last few weeks; Reiji Akaba _would_ pay for depriving him of the teeth and claws that had made him so feared in Academia and other, inferior places).

It took several moments before Yuri realised someone had entered the loungeroom.

"Yes?" he drawled without looking.

The only being other than Core who dared invade his space bounced nervously from foot to foot. "Do you…do you need anything?"

Yuri smirked. How amusing. The child thought that he could help the sick Fusion user, the inferior thing that the smiling fool was. But Yuri was not sick. _No, only the weak get sick. Only the weak need help._

Zarc's most manipulative reincarnation allowed Core to weave her tail through his fingers. Then again…

Yuri considered the Standard boy in front of him, a mirror image save for his too naïve smile and foolhardy kindness and general inferiority in every way that counted.

Yuya Sakaki had intrigued the Fusion user upon their first meeting and subsequent ones after that, the boy with words like a honeyed fly trap that could ensnare almost any victim it chose. He was obviously a gifted manipulator (though the fool did not know it) and had some talent for duels, but that was it. Emotions ruled the boy too strongly, made him as easy to manipulate as he obliviously found other people. Yuri had wondered if the boy could ever trap him with his words, but that fear had proved to be unfounded (almost unfounded; the wariness was still there deeply ingrained into his predatory instincts for a predator knew another predator, no matter how much smaller or weaker, when they saw one).

Instead, it seemed that mere prey had been his downfall. Or would have been. If he was indeed truly sick.

Yuri held in a sneeze, moving his lips in its place and with no small amount of effort into a calculated smile. It was only now that he broke the silence he had allowed to fall between him and his Standard counterpart (and how amusing it had been to watch the boy squirm beneath the weight of that silence).

"I do not need anything from you," he said in his paced, measured way. Yuya almost looked relieved. "Save information. If you would care to give it."

A smile followed those words, snakelike but impossible to prove its true nature. Another mask, another feigned round of politeness. Manipulation came as easily to him as breathing, more easily sometimes and it was more rewarding. Breathing gave him life. Manipulation gave him his every desire.

"What information?" The fool was more wary now. Suspicious.

 _Good. He's learning._

"Oh, it's nothing that would concern you," Yuri assured in a tone that would have been sickly from anyone less masterful than he. "I just wish to know how the other one is doing."

"You mean Yuto?"

"Ah, yes." The smile Yuri gave was not a pleasant one. A slip in his mask, however brief, upon hearing the name. "That one. There are so many of us I lose track. How is he?"

Yuya smiled, wariness still tainting the otherwise genuine arc of his lips. "In bed sleeping. Dad thinks he's got the flu."

Ah. That _was_ news. It seemed the Xyz scum who had given him this infernal cold was affected worse by it. Still, that did not change the fact that said scum had given it to him in the first place.

The Fusion user's fingers itched for a rematch with cards which he would undoubtedly win as the back of his throat itched to cough. Yuri held both urges back. Core was rubbing her head against his fingers, an unconscious reminder of a smile and voice that had awoken a new hunger in him several weeks ago. As for the second sensation… Only weak people coughed and he was far from being weak. His multiple victories when Academia still stood was testament to that.

Yuri coughed anyway.

"Water?"

"Yes."

It _burned_ , knowing that he was no better than this boy, that he was _worse_ than this fool in front of him. It burned even more that he had to accept help from said fool.

A strong person needed no help.

Yuri coughed again.

"Here you go."

Yuri gritted his teeth. He could _hear_ the obnoxiously cheery smile his Standard counterpart was bearing, even with his eyes closed as he accepted the glass. Core purred happily in his lap. He continued to scratch behind her ears.

For a while a silence filled the room, no doubt awkward for Yuya, but merely grating for the Fusion user. He was a solitary person. He needed no one, not least a fool's poor attempts at comforting someone he scarcely knew anything about other than that he was to be feared (roses were perhaps different, but then roses weren't fools). Someone cleared their throat. Yuri coughed again and sipped delicately from his glass.

 _If only the idiot would take some initiative and go away._ But what could one expect from inferior beings? Yuri set his expectations of others, especially his counterparts, low for a reason.

Finally, the stagnation of the room was broken as the only adult home entered with a faded specter in tow (roses gone off somewhere on business pertaining to themselves, a thought that sparked something green and jealous inside Yuri's heart).

"Yuto!" Yuya dashed to the side of his obviously favourite counterpart, but hastily stayed himself as he took in the exhaustion of the other. It was an awkward transition from a crushing embrace to a pat on the shoulder that occurred, containing none of the grace that Yuri, in his superiority, possessed (or that ghosts found came with ease).

Yuri quietly snorted to himself. It appeared the fool had some sense after all. Dull grey eyes frowned at him from across the room as though they had heard his thoughts. The boy they belonged to said nothing however, merely watching the Fusion user just as he always did.

"I'm taking Yuto to the doctor's," the Sakaki patriarch told his son. "I may as well take Yuri too, check that it is just a cold and won't also turn into the flu."

Yuri smiled to himself a smile of victory. It was all too clear what the man was thinking, yet did not want to say in front of him (was too kindhearted to – a weakness if there ever was one); that he was too dangerous and thus untrustworthy to leave alone with his dear son, Yuya. The implication did not insult Yuri in the slightest. That such thoughts existed around him spoke only of his success in making his name both renowned and feared throughout the Dimensions.

(Absently, almost unconsciously he wondered what certain green eyes paired with a gentle smile would think of his pleasure at such a feat.)

Still, going to the doctor's would be to admit that he was sick, inferior. Weak. And Yuri knew he was far from weak.

He stifled a cough.

"As grateful as I am for your concern, I am fine," the pink haired boy said.

Yusho Sakaki frowned. "I insist."

Yuri fought back a frown of his own at the very instant tone of those words, the _too_ insistent tone. He could not refuse it and maintain the mask of a gentleman he had conjured for his stay (did not want to upset the husband of that warm smile and thus be subject to disappointment that seemed to cut deeper than even losing).

 _How irritating._

"Very well," he finally strung out slowly, pleasantly, imagining gritting his teeth together instead. "If only to ease your worries and assure you of my ability to accurately judge my own condition."

Yusho nodded his head but said nothing, too preoccupied with writing a note in case any who were out returned before them. Yuya buzzed about their Xyz lookalike like an annoying gnat, asking him one thing then another, tugging at infernal red scarf wrapped around the sick one's neck, just begging to be snatched up by the maw of a greater carnivorous plant. How the Xyz scum stood it Yuri didn't know. Perhaps he was sicker than the former Academia soldier had originally thought.

 _Pathetic._

Yuri sniffed delicately as the Sakaki patriarch ushered all three boys out the door, Core following as far as the house's threshold once he had stood. The other two Zarc fragments dragged behind. The more inferior of the two (for prey was always more inferior than predators, even predators who were utter fools) had taken to leaning on Yuya for support in the short distance it took to reach the family car.

"Help Yuto into the back please, son." The famed dueltainer turned to look at Yuri. "You may sit in the front."

Yuri smiled charmingly and stepped to hold the door open for Yuya as he struggled to help their exhausted Xyz counterpart into the car. Said counterpart winced with every movement as though bruises had been inserted into each of his joints. No doubt his healing leg also ached (really, only an inferior dueler would have been injured when they had fought Zarc). By comparison, Yuya's movements were like a ballerina's as he too entered the car. Closing the door and sending a smile, unseen by Yusho, that made Yuya shift in discomfort closer to his pathetic 'bodyguard', Yuri slipped ever gracefully into his own seat.

"Hopefully this won't take too long," Yusho said as he started the engine.

The man's words fell into the silence it was clear the man was trying to break and sank like a stone without a ripple to show for the effort that was made (really, a pathetic attempt for someone supposed to be famous for dueltaining – the words of roses would have succeeded quietly with far less effort and awkwardness, instead drawing each into the folds of her petals to calm and soften). Yuya was still too unsettled to respond and the scum beside him even quieter than usual. Yuri sniffed and simply looked out the window. He doubted Yusho would welcome his response in any case, with the tension that held the man's shoulders in a stiff line every time his gaze drifted towards the most superior of those who bore his son's face.

It was going to be a boring drive.

If Yuri had been raised with any less etiquette he might have sighed. As it was he simply stared out of the window and imaged the gardens he could have planted in each sordid excuse for one they passed. The long tube-like, white and burgundy spotted Sarracenia leucophylla in front of the large windows of a yellow stoned house. Pinguicula vulgaris and its purple blooms scattered amongst the courtyard of another residence. For the more modern looking buildings, the vibrant orange-red Nepenthes ventricosa. In front of older styles of architecture, the plain greenery offered by the Drosophyllum lusitanicum. And perhaps, amongst them all, a rose or two to bring in some further, softer colour. It was relaxing mind-work. Pleasant even.

Yuri sneezed and a slight frown deigned to grace his face, no longer content. The former Fusion soldier flicked his eyes to the rear-view mirror where he could see said Xyz scum leaning on Yuya like a pathetic excuse. Not a heartbeat later a pair of grey eyes opened and stared right back at him, in their silvery depths lurking only a strangely burning coldness dulled by lethargic edges. There was no visible fear, no easily decipherable anger or hatred. Just that burning cold as always. The boy's mask was almost as good as his own.

Yuri would not say he was unnerved. Superior duelists were not unnerved by weaker opponents. Superior people were not made sick by their weaker counterparts. Superior people did not succumb to the false appearances of Belladonna. Still, it was as though his predatory instincts were readying themselves to combat a threat that was something more than a mere fly was to a Dionaea muscipula.

The Fusion user looked away smoothly.

The boy internally cursed the scum behind him for making him do so. Who did that _Xyz_ user think he was to force a predator to avert its gaze from the weaker prey? It was incomprehensible behaviour, despicable that one of his status and skill should bow to a duelist who was not even second-rate, and sick at that!

Yuri coughed delicately into his hand, unable to hold it back any longer.

He gave no thought to the contrite shadow that had barely traced the edges of his mind upon being caught by two somber grey wells. For him, such shadows did not exist.

"Everyone alright?" Yusho asked for the tenth agonizing time.

"Quite alright, thank you," Yuri said charmingly, his mask once more settling back into place.

A series of hacking coughs from behind answered for the Xyz scum. Yuri refrained from rolling his eyes and turned his attention back out the window. By now the gardens had faded into the harsh, unrefined concrete of the city hub where traffic was steadily increasing. The noise was raucous. The sights were obscenely vibrant and lively. No doubt Belladonna would thrive amongst the chaos with its poisonous ways, if it could find the strength to break through the pavement and avoid being crushed underfoot. (As it rightfully should be, was the opinion Yuri had recently come to hold. For all the esteem the second-rate plant was regarded with, its passive poison paled in comparison to the hungry might and maw of the carnivorous botany Yuri had spent many long hours studying. If that infernal Akaba had not taken his duel disk, than the former Academia soldier would have carded every Belladonna plant in existence and then torn each card in two, starting with the ghostly specimen behind him.)

"Yuya, are you alright?" Yusho asked.

Yuya seemed to whine. "I think Yuto's getting sicker, dad."

The tension in the man's shoulders increased. "We're almost there. That's just the fever growing."

"Hmm," Yuto agreed or at least seemed to. "I'll be fine, Yuya. Just tired."

Those who were strong would never admit a weakness. Yuri coughed again then sniffed, smoothly avoiding Yusho's sidelong glance. He focused on the streets blurring past and imagined crushing little black berries beneath his feet.

So the Fusion user passed the rest of the trip in silence save for the polite responses his mask called for him to give to the nurse at the front desk, to the doctor when he enquired about his health (despite the man knowing nothing at all; he was most adamantly _not_ sick), when he escorted his counterparts from and to the car acting the part of any charming manipulator. It was more tiring than it should have been, the ache in his head having steadily grown from interacting with such inferior people. The stuffiness of his nose – an inexplicable thing for it could not be the impossible – did not help matters. Nor did Yusho's insistence that they buy him medicine as well.

"Your concern is appreciated, but I do not need it," Yuri had said, his voice a touch irater for the throbbing by his temples.

Yusho had just looked away. "I'll get it just in case."

Soon enough (and _nowhere_ near it) the former Academia soldier was back where he had starts: the Sakaki loungeroom with Core purring atop his lap as well as he had ever been.

Yuri sniffed daintily, dabbing more than blowing his nose with a tissue.

He knew that his infernal lookalike who had reduced him to this state was asleep once more. That thought was not a bother to Yuri. The drive back to the Sakaki household from the doctor's had reassured him of the Xyz user's inferiority, the grey eyed boy failing to fight an increasingly slumber-like doze. His fatigue (a definite sign of his weakness when Yuri barely felt tired himself despite his subtly pounding head) had gotten to such a stage that Yusho Sakaki had forgone permission to carry the flu ridden and dully protesting boy back to the room he shared with Yuya (although Yuya was now temporarily bunking with Yugo).

No, there was no doubt his Xyz counterpart had fallen prey to the clutches of an irresponsible slumber. It was such a sign of feebleness when he himself was still wide awake. Doubly so that the boy had been reduced to relying almost completely on others to get from the car to the house.

Yuri refused to dwell on the fact that Yuya had not fallen sick; that other than him, no one had, not even his loud and obnoxiously annoying Synchro counterpart. Instead he focused on the man in front of him, watching, waiting for him to say something.

"Was there anything you needed? Tea perhaps? I noticed you were drinking some before." Yusho's words were almost hesitant, a performer's air all that kept them from being truly so.

 _Pathetic._

The boy's mask was growing more and more tiring to maintain. His head still throbbed, he was still sneezing for some unfathomable reason and the incitation that he was anything less than perfect-

Yuri coughed and fought back a scowl. He would sooner lick the boots of that Xyz scum sleeping in a bout of unending weakness than beg help from the man before him. (If it had been roses that had offered- Oh, if only it had been roses…)

"No," the Fusion user said tightly.

"Are you sure?" Yusho did not look convinced, instead a light that looked awfully, disturbingly like sympathy turning on in his eyes.

"I am fine. Thank you." He almost spat the last words like he had seen a heathen toddler spitting in fury at the doctor's office.

Why the man had deigned to come to him after placing Yuto in his room, Yuri did not know. He certainly did not care for it. This man was no rose. Perhaps a fool, perhaps something a bit more than a fool – what Yuya could be should he ever realise he possessed the power of a predator (but certainly the man was inferior to every fragment of Zarc that had retained a hunter's spirit). Yet, he was no rose (and, perhaps, in Yuri's aching eyes that was enough to condemn the man for).

An awkwardness had stolen over the room and unease, in all its revoltingness, crawled across Yuri's skin like a bug. How he would have loved to snap it up like his beloved Starving Venom or the Dionaea muscipula he had been forced to leave abandoned in his old Academia quarters. (It was just another reason to loath that Akaba spawn, that no-good, inferior, arrogant bastard who paraded about like he was better than Yuri when in fact his callous manipulations were almost a mirror image of Yuri's own, even if they were not as perfect.)

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask." Yusho still had not given up, a trait it seemed he shared with the annoying son he had raised.

"I will remember." The words were as dismissing as any could be.

A sigh filled the air, like it had expected something more but was not surprised by what it had received instead. Yuri focused his attention on where Core's demanding head was butting against his fingertips, seemingly ignoring the footsteps that had begun to move away. Those footsteps were beneath him.

Almost at the room's door, they stopped. Yuri, subtly, tensed.

"It is alright to be sick, you know. Everyone gets sick."

It was a horrible thought. That he was just like everyone _else_ , every weaker person he despised.

"It doesn't make you weak," Yusho continued. It was as if the man could read his mind (another horrible thought).

For a moment there was silence. Then Yuri's voice came as smooth and calculated as it always was. "I thank you for your concern. If you do not mind, I would like to retire now."

"Of course."

And if there was a sigh as the man exited the room Yuri did not dwell on it. Nor did he dwell on what it meant.

Such dwelling was, after all, for the weak.

* * *

 **Ye Gods, I forgot how hard Yuri was to write. I had to reread the previous chapters with him in it several times to write this...**

 **This was a suggestion from forever ago from Durbe the Barian: a moment between Yuri and Yusho where Yusho and Yuya looking after a sick Yuri whose superiority complex makes him say he can't be sick, etc. It was a pretty good suggestion and interesting, although hard, to write (and Yuri's voice is getting more fun to write too, although clearly no less hard) - indeed that was what kicked off this cold plot arc ;) I hope I did it justice at least somewhat. I'm not too happy with the latter half of this, but oh well.**

 **I thought having Yuto be kind of responsible for Yuri getting sick ('responsible' being debatable: Yuto has the flu where Shun & Yuri have colds. So they could have caught something else at the same time, which is more likely, otherwise they would have flus too - not that either of them see it that way ;) would be an interesting (funny really, if I'm being honest) concept since I think Yuri would personally see it as Yuto getting one up on him so to speak. And this would be coming from someone with a superiority complex and innate desire to a) card everyone and/or b) get the most praise, who also c) came from a place with a very low opinion on those from the Xyz Dimension. In any case, this would not be helping Yuto's case with him. Doubly so if only Yuri is infected and not Yuya or Yugo - and if Yuto already made him uneasy, which I think he would. **

**I hope that you enjoyed this.** **P** **lease leave a review if you feel so inclined; they are much appreciated. I also love hearing what you thought of my stories.**


	11. Something to Coddle

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh Arc V, or any of its plot, characters or related franchise.**

 **Still alive! Life has unfortunately been extremely busy but I have some time now so an update!**

 **This follows the last chapter (' Something to Accept') and is the last in the saga of sick Yuto and his unfortunate victims. Focus is Yoko, with all the Yu boys and Yusho. And the Sakaki pets (much to Yuto's detriment as per usual). It's a bit short to get back into the swing of things, and the quality's not too great, but ah well. **

* * *

There was little that could compare to a day spent lounging on a couch being waited on hand and foot by those around you.

 _All those royals were onto something_ , Yoko thought as she smiled politely and graciously accepted the tea Yuri handed her on a saucer. She sniffed.

Not so pleasant was a day spent confined to the couch by sickness. Still, she was determined to see the good in everything (and had promised Yusho she would rest instead of bustling about the house as she usually did).

"Would you like lemon as well?" Yuri was asking in that meticulous charming voice of his. "I have found that it both added something to the taste and aided in helping with the…cold."

"Yes, thank you."

Yoko kept from smiling. The boy was still not above denying his illness, just like almost every other man she had known afflicted with the common cold. Yusho, ever inclined to the dramatic, would proclaim he was dying if he took so much as a splinter to the thumb – though he would always show a tough front to his son. His best friend, Shuzo, on the other hand, could not be more different. Yuzu's father was just like her: determined to push through everything from splinters to decapitation.

One of the other exceptions sat in front of her, cocooned in a blanket on the floor. The grey eyed boy had apologised to her several times over the course of the day and a hundred more in the days just passed for infecting her with his sickness (Yoko had noted with a downward tweak of her lips that he had given no such apology to Yuri, who had also apologised charmingly if he had indeed been the one to have 'reduced her to such an undeserving state'). Each time she had reassured Yuto that it was not his fault. At the very least, she had told him, he had not given her the flu.

(As kind hearted as she was, she was also _infinitely_ glad Shuzo had housed Shun and not them. The man kept ringing up with horror stories about the teenager's legendary stubbornness.)

Currently, Yuto was helping Yuya sort through the latter's cards. Yoko's son had declared with Yuzu that they would be putting on a show for all the currently ailing people in the Sakaki and Hirargi households later that day. It was certainly something to look forward to. Yoko had seen them both improve so much in their dueling and had recaptured the cheeriness that made both their performances unique.

The woman's lips tweaked downwards again. For a while she had feared her son would never pick up another card. He still refused to duel in tournaments, but slowly Yusho had encouraged Yuya to play a few small games with him and several others. It was a start. A small one, but a start.

"Are you sure there is nothing I can get you?" a quiet voice asked.

Yoko raised an eyebrow at where Yuto was rubbing his aching head. "The most strenuous thing you should be doing today is sorting cards or else I'll call Shuzo and let him bring Shun over."

"Ruri would be better," Yuya muttered. "I don't know how, but she's scarier."

"That's no way to talk about a lady," Yoko reprimanded half in jest. She reached over to rustle her son's vivid hair.

"It's true though!" Yuya protested. "Did you see what she did to that guy who told Shun he looked like a 'two-bit vagabond' with a…well…something not very nice grafted onto his face and…well…you get the idea. She made _Serena_ cry, although they might have been tears of pride now that I think about it."

"No," Yoko said with a straight face. "But I'm sure she handled it with class and grace."

"He does need to get rid of that coat," Yuto mused looking very much like he was trying not to laugh. "At this point his stubbornness is all that's holding it together."

"I'm sure he would appreciate the chance to go coat shopping once he's recovered," Yoko said. "A wonderful idea, Yuya."

Yuya suddenly looked a little pale. " _Mum!_ That's not what I meant!"

"I am sorry to interrupt. Your lemon."

A well-maintained hand appeared in front of her, offering a plate of perfectly cut yellow segments.

Yoko smiled warmly. "Thank you, Yuri."

The boy dabbed at his dripping nose like any proper gentleman would. "It is no trouble at all," he said with a small and measured smile. "Indeed, it is the least I can do for you after all you have done."

"Would you like to sit down?" the woman asked. She gestured to the spot beside her where Core was currently trying to bat Yuto's hair.

Yuri stood for a moment, considering. Yoko let him.

"My thanks," the pink haired boy said as he went to sit. For a brief moment there was a staring competition between him and the cat, before the cat moved to make space. It was most certainly the feline's victory, however, as she immediately sat upon Yuri's lap.

All three sick residents of the Sakaki household sniffed.

"Tissues!" came a loud proclamation from somewhere behind them. Yugo hastily followed, tissue box in hand. "Where do you want them?"

"The coffee table will be fine," Yoko said. "Thank you, Yugo."

Her son's Synchro counterpart beamed. "I finished fixing that dent in your car. Mostly just needed to beat it back into shape. Easy fix, really. Rin and me have probably done it a thousand times. I'll need to repaint it, but you didn't have anything that matched in the garage."

Yoko grinned at the boy's enthusiasm for mechanics, one that she shared. "We can get some later. What about the bike? Do you think you can salvage anything from it?"

"Ah, I need Rin's opinion," Yugo said, rubbing the back of his head. "I mean, the engine's shot completely. One of the wheels looks like someone's taken a wrench to it or something."

Yoko would never admit that was exactly what she had done. Losing her son after losing her husband had been too much. The bike, a side project she had been putting off forever, was a safe outlet for her frustration and fear.

"Fascinating," Yuri interjected. His manner was as meticulous and polite as ever, yet there seemed to be something underlying it. "I have no knowledge about vehicles, but I'm sure anything Mrs. Sakaki picked is of quality."

Yoko gave a small laugh. "I was hoping that the engine might be salvable, I confess, but something is better than nothing."

"I said the engine's shot, not that I couldn't fix it," Yugo cut in. He was sending Yuri a look that spoke nothing of brotherhood. Yoko feared the two would never get along.

"What would you need?" she asked, before being struck by a bought of coughing.

"I will fetch some water," Yuri said as he gracefully flew to his feet and into the kitchen before his counterparts could get a word in edgewise.

Yugo frowned after the Fusion user, but quickly grinned again at Yoko. "What do I need?"

"For the motorbike's engine." Yoko was always amused by how distracted the blue-eyed boy could be, good natured though he was.

"Oh. Um… A new cover for sure. Battery too. Maybe some of the pistons-"

"The cylinders?"

"Nah, they looked good when I gave them an initial look over. Rin might find some problems though."

Yoko frowned. "Are you sure it wouldn't be easier to replace the engine entirely?"

"No!" Yugo cried, his blue eyes flying wide open, suddenly pleading. "It could be a house project! You and me and Rin could work together rebuilding the engine!"

Sometimes Yoko wondered how children could survive without their parents. She hesitated to ask Yugo for he sometimes seemed desperate for her or Yusho to do any sort of parent-like thing with him. He was eager to take on the few responsibilities usual children in the Standard Dimension had, though seemed determine to pay back both Sakaki adults for everything they had done in any way possible. Who was she to refuse the boy something that could salvage what little of his childhood he had left?

"Yes, I think that would be a great idea," Yoko said. Her agreement was helped by the image of Yusho complaining about her getting grease on him every time they kissed, a pretend annoyance of his to make her feel as though she had gotten the better of him. Besides, it had been a while since she had buried herself in an engine. The thrill of doing so again hummed in her blood.

The woman fell victim to another bought of coughing.

"Maybe after I'm better though," she said with a grin. Yugo beamed back at her, but someone else beat him to speaking.

"A wise idea. It wouldn't do for that cough to get worse," Yuri said. "Your water. I added some lemon too."

"Thank you, Yuri, that was very thoughtful." Yoko ignored the flaring blue eyes that had homed in on the pink haired boy. Similarly, she took note of how said boy preened with a satisfied pride she doubted was unlike the satisfaction he had gained upon winning a duel against a 'weaker' opponent.

The comparison did not bother the woman in the slightest. If Yuri had started to take pride in praise over carding (and Yoko didn't think she would ever understand just how _anyone_ could ever card anyone), then at least it showed the boy could change. Could be granted the normalcy that Fusion Academy had denied him.

Yusho had been wary of taking him in, had argued strongly against it before caving to Yoko's own brand of reason. Common sense dictated that those shunned by society always came back to bite society in the rear. It was like that classic horror book she had to read in her English literature studies at school – the creature turned into a monster by society. The woman refused to believe anyone was born evil.

 _"If we don't take him, where else will he go?" she had asked. "That Reiji boy would imprison him."_

 _"After what he's done it's where he-"_

 _"If you finish that sentence so help me." Yoko had looked at him them, green eyes searching brown ones, as hard as they had been when the two had first met. "By action alone Yuya too should be locked up, but it wasn't his fault! It wasn't any of their faults. None of those boys chose to have that_ thing _in them. None of them chose the path they had to take. They are boys and we have a duty to care for each of them. Tell me we don't."_

 _That Yusho had been unable to do._

"How is your card sorting going, darling?" Yoko asked her first son as the memory faded.

Yuya did not look up, the tip of his tongue having come to peak between his lips in concentration. "Almost done. I think- There! That's the one!" He snatched a card Yuto had been holding up and gave his completed deck an appreciative pat. "This is going to be some show!"

"I don't doubt it," Yuto smiled.

"You got any Synchro cards in there?" Yugo asked as he leaned over. "They're great! Better than Xyz summoned ghosts for sure."

"A few," Yuya said. His closest counterpart glared at Yugo as Yuri smirked somewhere to the side. The impeding argument was avoided, however, without needing Yoko's intervention as the door opened and something barreled through.

"Argh!"

Arms flew up into the air as a small dog crashed into Yuto's chest then promptly sat atop it. Yugo burst into laughter after his shocked outcry that had drowned out Yuto's grunt. Even Yuri's grin grew, malice perhaps alighting in his eyes at his Xyz counterpart's plight. (The pink haired boy seemed most uncomfortable around him, though Yoko didn't know the reason why. She wished it was guilt for what he had done, but she was not naïve enough to believe it just yet.)

Yuya's deck also went flying as he dove to his friend's assistance. "En, heel!"

"Get off!"

Neither Yugo or Sora did anything to hide their laughter as the red-brown and white Sakaki dog continued to lick Yuto where he had the flustered boy pinned down. Even Yuri gave a small chuckle, the noise as well manicured as everything else he did.

Yoko gave her own laugh as Yuya futilely tried to drag En off his Xyz counterpart. Her laughter soon stopped, however, partly due to an uncomfortable tickling at the back of her throat, partly due to the fact Yuto was growing distinctly more anxious where he was trapped helplessly beneath the dog he refused to more forcefully throw off.

"En! _Heel!_ "

The two sharp words saw the dog bound to where Yusho stood in the lounge's entrance. He promptly sat and thumped his tail excitedly against the ground. The thumping grew no less dejected as he was scolded by the man above him. Yuto, meanwhile, had decided to seek refuge on the couch beside Yoko and as far away from Core as possible.

"He just missed you," Yuya tried.

He received no answer other than a steely grey glare from his Xyz counterpart who then swiftly turned said glare back to the guilty – and still tail-wagging – canine.

Yoko brushed a hand over the twitching corners of her lips in a convenient gesture to cover her mouth as she coughed. From the corner of her eye she could see Kilo and Watt sneaking in from behind Yusho. Yuto shifted further back on the couch. It would do the grey eyed boy no good. The Sakaki pets were every bit as stubborn as the ones who owned them when it came to demonstrating their affection.

"How was the walk?" Yoko asked.

"Great!" Sora replied with that boyish enthusiasm that had first won her over. "Watt kept trying to drag Yusho into the pond. It was hilarious!"

"I'm sure," Yugo muttered as he tried to push Core away from where she was now nudging his arm.

"Fortunately, I'm stronger than the dog," Yusho said with a twinkle in his eye. "Who wants to help put away the shopping?"

Both Yugo and Yuri leapt to take the chance in their own ways, one boisterous and the other's actions carefully measured. With Sora following them to the kitchen, Yusho turned his attention to where Yuya was frowning down at his cards.

"I just had these all organised," the boy whined as he bent to gather them once again.

His father grinned and ruffled his hair. "Looking forward to the show?"

"Yuzu is! She's nervous too," Yuya gushed. "She keeps texting me about what she's going to wear, the totally awesome deck she's prepared, what I should put in my deck, how I should do my hair, the shoe's I should wear, to buy a coat that matches the purple skirt she's got…" He shot his father a look like a half desperate puppy. "It's exhausting! If this is what being married is like I don't think I ever want to get married."

"Oh, you'll find someone who makes all that seem worthwhile, darling," Yoko said. With a little pushing, perhaps, much like some of his and his dear friend's other counterparts, but it would happen.

"Yes, then you can do this," Yusho said before kissing his wife with a dramatic flair. Whispered sidelong to their son as he screwed his nose up in disgust, the man continued. "Although women are demanding when sick."

Grinning, Yuya fled the room with cards in hand as Yoko smacked his father around the head.

"We are not, Mister call-the-hospital-a-fly-flew-down-my-throat," she said emphatically.

"Shush or you'll wake him up," Yusho replied, gesturing to the couch.

Yuto, it seemed, had given up his attempt to ward off the Sakaki pets and the lingering lethargy of the flu. Now the boy simply slept where he sat, two dogs by his feet, another on his lap and Core somehow having managed to weave her way onto his slumped shoulders. Her tail flicked contentedly across his jaw every so often. No doubt the Xyz user would wake with an inordinate amount of fur in his mouth.

Yoko leaned into Yusho and made as if to place a kiss on the area between his shoulder and neck. Nuzzling the fabric there, the woman sniffed and wiped her running nose against it. She grinned, practically feeling the downturned corners of her husband's mouth as the man regarded her with displeasure.

"I was going get you a glass of the juice I brought when we were out walking the dogs, but now I think I'll just drink it all myself."

"Orange juice?"

"Cranberry."

"Now I have to have some," Yoko said before immediately following with a bout of coughing. Once done, she pouted like En did when he was trying to get Yuto to scratch his belly, all eyes and drooping lips and wriggling nose.

Yusho laughed. "Now I know where Yuya gets that face from."

"Because you've never manipulated anyone in your life," Yoko said with a raised eyebrow. "You forget that I have had over ten years to bond with Shuzo. I know _everything_ the two of you have gotten up to since you met." A wicked smile overtook her. "Does a moonlit pool and hot sauce in the middle of winter ring a bell?"

Yusho coughed. "Yes, well- Ahem. One juice coming up."

His wife's laughter echoed after him, rebounding off the walls of the house. Yoko snuggled further into the couch as she sniffed once more. Sick as though she was, she thought as she scratched Core's ears, it was infinitely better than an empty house.

* * *

 **Some notes. (1) when I sat Yusho acts like he is dying when he's ill, I mean in non-serious (i.e. non-battle) situations and with only minor illnesses. If he needed to he would push through. (2) I wanted to write this mainly to explore Yugo and Yuri's slightly competitive relationship with Yoko - though this didn't feature as much as I wanted it to. And to further explore how Yuri would be jealous when someone else was receiving Yoko's attention. (3) I know nothing about motorbikes or how to build/rebuild engines. Forgive me for any mistakes.**

 **Yuto, of course, is still recovering from the flu (or possibly cold that devolved into the flu) that started everything. ;) And En is as much a horror to him as ever in this series…**

 **As another note, I will probably wrapping up this series in about half a dozen or so chapters (which may take a while… I do have ideas for all of them though). I love writing it but have some other projects I really want to be working on. In any case, I hope you enjoyed this at least.**

 **Please leave a review. I love hearing your thoughts on this series.**


	12. Something to claim

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh Arc V, or any of its plot, characters or related franchise.**

 **Still alive! If workloads could kill... But I've had a bit of a slow week so decided to get around to updating this. Apologies for the time!**

 **All Yus appear in this one (to varying degrees) as do all the Bracelet girls. Mama bird can also be sited alongside a very indiscrete father.**

* * *

"I keep telling you, this place does the _best_ shakes and the burgers here…" Yuzu forewent words for drooling as she fanned herself at the thought of food.

Rin looked skeptical. "I doubt it's anything like Mrs Sakaki's cooking."

"Oh, no," her Standard counterpart said. "Of course not! Yuya's mum has the best cooking I've ever tasted, but this place comes to a close second. Or maybe third…."

"We'll try it anyway," Serena declared before the debate about which place was the best to eat at could truly begin. She was starving and it was not helping her mood.

"Besides, Yuto and the others are waiting there for us already," Ruri put in.

Yuzu sighed. "Yes, yes. I know. But I _completely_ forgot about Michio Mokota and his father's place!"

"We can always try it later," Ruri said, patting her on the back.

"Yeah, when we're not all starving," her Fusion counterpart muttered.

Rin gave a strained smile. "Whatever the food's like here, it'll be better than eating whatever we can find on the streets."

"You've never tried the food at Academia," Serena replied, but she dropped the subject. Even now she was learning that there were hardships she could not even begin to comprehend. Academia had provided a very selected and bias education to all its students.

 _Just another thing to curse them for_ , Serena thought in her head. Yet, it was not so simple as that, she knew. Leo Akaba had cast more than several of the teachers under his spell, either through love or fear. Even then, more than several had also taught out of the pure belief that they were the superior dimension meant to bring order to the rest. (Then there were those… _worms_ -)

Maybe she should follow Sora's example and try not to think about it too much. It was what it was – in the past.

Serena scratched her ears and growled in harmony with her stomach. "How much further?"

"We're almost there," Yuzu said cheerily.

That was an understatement. They were practically on the café's doorstep. Serena almost walked into the door itself, a lovely clearly hand-carved thing painted in a hideous shade of green.

"We're eating _here_?"

 _Good_ , Serena thought. _I'm not the only one who is thinking that._

Yuzu looked at Rin, hurt. "Come on, it's not that bad. The owners just don't have money for a renovation yet after they moved their shop to a more frequented street."

"The sign would be the door if it hung any lower!" Rin put her hands on her hips. "Your screwdrivers are so cheap here. There's no excuse for that!"

"It's better inside," Yuzu promised, somewhat exasperated.

Serena's stomach growled, reminding her of her current priorities. "As long as there's food in there and it's clean, I don't care what it looks like. Lead on, Yuzu."

Her Standard counterpart did just that, opening the door (the sign didn't fall, much to the relief of the rest of Ray's fragments) and ushering Rin in with the comment that she could come back and fix it herself if it was such an annoyance. Ruri and Serena quickly followed.

The interior was thankfully much more habitable. Large seats lined every booth, not exactly plush but not rocks either. The walls were painted with various murals. They seemed to have been drawn by a talented child, but there was a quaintness about it. The subject matter was certainly more mature, often depicting well known celebrities and politicians and historical figures in humourous attires and situations.

Ruri quietly pointed to one of the city's Mayor being flung off a horse-tiger hybrid into a patch of cabbages. Her and Serena doubled over silently.

"Oh no."

Serena looked up from where she had been laughing. Yuzu had gone rigid, a dark aura rising steadily from her in waves. At least it would have been if they were in an anemia. Serena could not think of a worse nightmare (aside from the ones she occasionally got about some psycho trying to destroy the world and another psycho trying to merge them). When angered her Standard counterpart could give even that bastard Leo Akaba a run for his money. It made sense in strange way, what with them being fragments of Ray and Ray being his beloved and, more importantly, biological daughter.

 _Whatever those fools have done now_ , she thought, _it had better be good._

Not one to rip a Band-Aid off slowly, Serena pushed her way through her three other friends and strode in through the café like she owned the place. Aside from a bird hunched in a corner seat much too small for him and an overly excitable father squashed next to him, there seemed to be no problem. The four Yu boys were sitting together in a much larger booth clearly waiting for their-

 _Oh._

Serena laughed, perhaps in a way bordering on the side of unhinged in retrospect. This later reflection certainly explained the odd look Ruri had given her not a moment later.

"Oh no," Yuzu said again. "What do they think they're doing? Don't those floozies know that those seats are reserved for _us_?"

And the pink haired girl stalked over to where Yuya and the others sat, Rin close on her heels with her tawny eyes fixed on a laughing Yugo. Serena and Ruri hurried after them. This would either turn out to be a very hilarious moment or a very awkward one.

 _There goes ever eating here again no matter how good the shakes are…_

"Did I tell you about the time I managed to lift a D-wheel one handed?" Yugo boasted to the four girls who were giggling at him.

"No, in fact I don't think you ever mentioned that to _me_ at all."

"Ah, well then, wait until you hear this-"

Serena would never admit to even thinking it but at that moment thanked whatever gods there were that Yuri was sitting next to Yugo at the time, for he elbowed his oblivious Synchro hard in the stomach and smiled politely up at Rin and her own lookalikes.

"Just in time," her fellow ex-Academia soldier drawled. "Shall we make room for you? I trust your journey here was well."

The next few moments passed rather quickly for however much that happened in them. Yuto's reaction was the most sedate after Yuri's, simply turning pleading eyes up to Ruri in the hopes she might rescue him from the attentions of the girl next to him, too gallant to refuse the stranger outright himself, as he stood to let help the four female fragments of Ray into their seats. Yuya, on the other hand, had somehow managed to transform his face into four different colours in quick succession before ducking beneath the table as though it could hide him from Yuzu's wrath. Yugo yelled when he saw Rin, but it was more in greeting than in anything else.

Rin smirked when she met eyes with the girl whom had seemed the most interested in her friend (more-than-friend if either of them would ever admit it, Serena thought). It was devastatingly clear to both whom the boy was the most interested in.

"Rin Rin!" Yugo said again, the beam as his face as wide as the room. "You're here! I was just talking to Emi and her friends. Did you know they were staying the month while their parents were looking for houses together?"

"No," Rin said in a voice that was both warm and frosty all at once. "Because I've never met them before."

"Ha! I'm sure we'll all get along fine," Yugo gushed, oblivious as ever. "Emi is really into motorbikes, even if she's never ridden one."

"Oh, really?" Rin glared at the girl in question, a wicked smile on her face. She then proceeded to question her on every part of a motorbike that existed, from the strongest shock absorbers to the most durable frame much to Emi's increasing embarrassment. Yugo's own face was also growing red, but it was more in anger at Rin.

Meanwhile, Ruri had accepted Yuto's hand and forcefully pushed her way onto the seat and the other girl who had been harassing her boyfriend off it. Her phantom knight was kindly explaining that this was girlfriend whom he had been waiting for, though she herself - Chiaki was her name – was a lovely young lady as well. Yuri rolled his eyes at his Xyz counterpart (where the other could not see) before blinking flirtishly up at the strange girl next to him. She blushed and tugged at her fourth friend's hand.

"I think we should be going," the fourth girl said, much to the others' relief.

"Yes," Yuzu agreed icily. "You should be."

The four left without a word, though Yuri bid them a sickeningly sweet goodbye, chorused by the much more genuine farewells of the other three. Serena took her seat after Yuzu did, plonking her elbows on the table and interlacing her fingers, chin resting on top and eyes peering over the top much like a predator's might.

"So," she said. "They seemed nice."

Sometimes the others asked if being an ass was a Fusion trait. Though Shun always declared it was, usually the others conceded that Serena proved otherwise. Still, sometimes that overgrown mother bird _was_ right. Not that she would ever tell him. At least not directly.

"Too nice if you ask me," Yuzu huffed. "Yuya, why did they come over? Did you not tell them that you were saving the booth for us?"

From somewhere in the dimension beneath the table Yuya answered. "We did. I swear! I don't know why they came over, but they were nice. Very interested in hearing about dueltaining. I think Hotaru was talking about how she might take up dueling herself after all the publicity its been getting. She wanted some pointers – recognized my dad from a poster."

"I bet she did."

Yuya slid a little further into that other dimension. "I just gave her a few pointers."

"She was flirting with you," Yuzu said, frowning.

"Like Chiaki was with you," Ruri told Yuto. He blushed to his roots.

"I told her I was waiting for you," he said.

"Of course." Ruri winked at him. "Did you like her?"

Yuto spluttered. "What? No! Don't say that so loud. Shun's here. I don't want him to get the wrong idea."

"Oh, calm down," Serena said. "He seemed more pissed at your new admirers. Besides, Shuzo had him pinned." She waved cheerily at the older Kurosaki. He scowled back at her and jerked out of Shuzo's grasp. Shuzo, on the other hand, had no qualms about waving back. Serena looked at Ruri. "You know, he's such a gentleman compared to your brother."

Ruri turned to look over her shoulder, waving at both older males as well. Her brother dropped his face into his hand. Clearly, he was bemoaning his current short-term host's inability to maintain a discrete cover.

"I know," the younger Kurosaki said, grinning as she turned back around. "I've tried to instill some manners but, short of beating them into his head, nothing seems to stick."

Serena turned to Yuto. "Maybe you should try beating it into his head."

"I doubt it would stick any better," he snorted.

Serena grinned. At first she had thought the younger and much smaller boy would have been crushed in any physical altercation between him and his long term friend. The first fight they had started at Shuzo's house had proved her otherwise. Six minutes and several broken pots later and Yuto had Shun pinned to the ground, both swearing their heads off at each other as Ruri swore at them from the window. It had taken Shuzo and Yusho to pull them apart, though no one outside of the Xyz trio had ever learnt why the fight had started in the first place. Still, to everyone's relief, the incident had blown over after a few tense hours. True fights between the three were rare indeed and it was disconcerting to see one (however amusing it was to see the elder Kurosaki beaten so easily).

"Maybe _I_ should try beating it into his head."

Yuto snorted now and Ruri gave her an appraising look.

"Would you do this for free or is there to be payment involved?" she asked.

Her Fusion counterpart shot another look over to where Shun sat, gave him a wicked smirk and leaned over to peck a kiss on Ruri's nose. "For you dear, I'd do it for free."

"Aim for his stomach. It's his weak spot."

Serena was about to express her gratitude for a friend's betrayal of another friend when a glass slammed down on the table.

"What do you mean?" Rin demanded. "We were perfectly mannered to them."

Yuya raised his hands. "I'm just saying-"

"That we weren't perfectly mannered?"

"Well, _I_ don't think you were being very nice," Yugo declared, glaring at Rin.

The green haired girl glared back at him. "She was lying to you. She didn't know a thing about motorbikes!"

"She's just shy," the other defended. "You interrogating her about every little part didn't help!"

"I was proving a point."

"You were acting like a Duel Chaser or one of those other Security bastards."

Rin's lips thinned dramatically. "A _what_?"

Yugo crossed his arms, for once not quailing beneath those burning tawny eyes. "Well, you were! I call it like I see it and what I saw was you intimidating Emi for no good reason."

"She was flirting with you, you idiot."

"No she wasn't." Yugo was ever oblivious. Serena personally hoped he never changed.

"Yes she was."

"She most certainly was."

"Shut up, Fusion bastard. No one asked you."

"I was just shining some light on the situation, light which you seem to have missed though I shouldn't be surprised. You are the least observant of us after all. How many times did you mistake others for Rin?"

"I said shut up!"

"You shut up," Rin told her fellow Synchro dueler, then pointed a finger at Yuri. "And you stay out of it. No one asked you."

"Yeah!"

"Come on, guys. Let's not fight." Yuya had emerged at the escalating fight, looking like a kicked puppy with the pout he was wearing. "This was supposed to be a fun lunch."

At the mention of lunch Serena's stomach decided to let itself be known once again. "Yeah. Yuya's right. When are we going to order?"

Yuzu gave her an affronted look. "Is that all you can think about? Food? After what happened."

"What's the big deal?" Now the Fusion user raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "So a couple of girls were trying to chat them up. Only Yuto is in a relationship here, he didn't flirt back and Ruri's fine with it!"

Both Yuzu and Rin blushed (as did Yugo). Yuzu bit her lip, abashed. "Maybe you're right…"

"I believe the issue here is that the girls, though charming, were impolite to try and engage us with conversation while we were clearly waiting for others," Yuri said. Serena wanted to punch him right in his smirking face.

"Not impolite," Yuya frowned. "It's always good to meet new people."

"So you think I should have invited them to eat with us?" Yuzu asked, ire growing again.

"No," Yuya said, at the same time Yugo said, "Yes."

Serena sighed and mimicked hanging from a noose to the only two who had not devolved into arguing once again and were not watching said arguments unfold with glee. Ruri shrugged. Yuto, however, was focused on something else.

Quick to take advantage of this lack of attention, Serena then pointed to him and made smoochy faces at her Xyz counterpart. She blushed and waved her hands. Grinning, Serena then proceeded to mime exaggerated and increasingly crazy displays of affection trying to get Ruri to laugh aloud. Her success was limited and completely undone by the next installment of drama-

"What the hell is your brother doing?"

Yuto's exclamation drew the attention of the only two who were not engrossed in their own little scenes; Yuzu was still scolding Yuya, and Yugo and Rin were arguing (Yugo losing as usual) with Yuri watching on, smirking. The Fusion fragment of Zarc did glance over, but found the new development to be less entertaining than the one in front of him.

Serena rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"What _is_ he doing?"

Ruri's words drew her blue haired counterpart's attention back to what had grabbed it in the first place. Raising one eyebrow at the two 'chicks' at the table, she turned to view what they were looking at a grin splitting her face not a second later.

Serena snorted at where one overprotective mother bird was looming over four cowering girls. "I think he's getting ready to kill the people who flirted with your boyfriend."

"Oh no…"

"Dammit, Shun." Yuto's voice sounded about as done as it could get. "I'll deal with this. Please excuse me."

The grey eyed boy removed himself from the table with ease, squeezing Ruri's hand once before drifting over to where his friend was causing trouble. The elder Kurosaki seemed surprised to see him, annoyance colouring his face as Yuto spoke to him sharply before turning his chivalrous manners onto the now giggling girls.

"How are you not jealous?" Serena asked, half turning her face back to Ruri. "They are practically swooning at his every word."

"Wouldn't you?" Ruri grinned, flicking her eyes to her lookalike before shifting them back to the unfolding scene. "I know he would never cheat on me. "

"Because of Shun?" Serena smirked.

"Because of love."

"Damn! You are _so_ gone for him."

Rui cracked her own grin, eyes flitting back to her counterpart once more. "It is what it is."

Serena's smirk widened. "And yet you two still haven't kissed."

A grin turned into a blush. "It just- It hasn't- It's just not happened yet!"

" _Is_ it Shun?" The Lancer cracked her knuckles. "Because if it is I can knock him out so the two of you can get this thing of yours-"

"No!" Ruri sent her a withering glare. "It's _not_ Shun."

"Then what is it?"

"It's just- I mean…" Ruri paused, her blustered state turning into one of alarm. "Oh, god, no. Where is Shuzo?"

Serena gave her a look before turning back to where Shun and Yuto stood. "Focused solely on the fact Yuya and Yuzu are almost touching, why-"

She cut herself off, the answer blatantly obvious to anyone with a working eye.

During the brief exchange she and Ruri had, one of the girls Shun had sent cowering and Yuto had rushed in to save had grabbed at the latter knight's hand. It was clear she had said something to well and truly fluster the boy who was trying to pull his hand free whilst clearly _still_ not wanting to hurt her (Serena was of the opinion that one day that reluctance to hurt another was going to get Yuto killed, _again_ ). The main issue, however, was the teenager behind him, at least six-foot of rage and red and falcons and overprotective mother bird about to explode.

"I've got Shun if you get Yuto," Serena threw out even as she near sprinted towards her fellow Lancer, plastering a giddy smile on her face for any onlookers.

Shun wouldn't know what hit him.

"Brother dearest!" the Fusion user wheedled as she all but tackled him round his middle. "Come sit with me!"

Then, without a care for the two yellow eyes boring holes into her head, she dragged the riled-up Kurosaki to his abandoned booth and all but sat on him.

"Serena-" he managed to growl.

"Ruri's handling it," she growled back. "Just trust her."

Those words at least got him to stop struggling, so Serena turned her attention back to where Ruri was now pointing Yuto in their direction. But not before she hauled him in for a kiss. It was a quick peck on the lips, not a true and proper thing, but it seemed to get the message across to the girls the youngest Kurosaki was glaring at. It had certainly turned Yuto into a red, awed buffoon.

Serena swore she could see two love hearts bursting out of his eyes like in the cartoons Yuzu, Rin and Shuzo loved to watch.

The blue haired girl crowed with delight and she could feel Shun smiling next to her (though she was half sure that somewhere in the room an unrelated father had fainted from the shock of it all – Yoko would know by the end of their lunch at the latest). Yuto slide into place across the table, his graceful movements still dulled by shock. For a moment it seemed as though the boy would never remerge from the state until he caught a glimpse of Shun. Then he proceeded to try and disappear through his seat like a ghost.

Serena wondered briefly if anyone had told him he was not one anymore. The thought was not as funny when she considered it further.

"I'm not going to kill you," Shun said, exasperated.

Yuto, blushed, coughed and cringed all at once. His friend rolled his eyes and turned them back onto his sister. Serena grinned at the younger Xyz dueler and turned to watch her own counterpart in action as well. A furious, but restrained Ruri was a beautiful sight. Much like a crouched cat only moments away from striking its prey. Or a dancer about to go from a retiré devant to a grand jeté.

It was indeed a fantastic sight. Though they could not hear the words spoken, and despite the fact Ruri did not overly speak with her hands in motion, the proud position of her back and the superior tilt of her chin would have had many boys (and not a few girls) from the old Academia shaking at the knees. Not more than a few sentences were exchanged, but they were enough to make the girls pale dramatically and one Chiaki seemed to swoon.

Satisfied at this reaction, the youngest Kurosaki turned and strutted away. Not a second later the four abashed girls shot out of their seats and quickly left the café without a backward glance.

Yuto waved to gain Ruri's attention, a gleam hanging over his grey eyes that looked much like the sappy love from stupid cartoon shows. Still, on the Xyz dueler's toughened face it didn't look so stupid. Ruri's own eyes lit up with it too when she saw him, something else that maybe wasn't entirely sappy or stupid.

When Ruri was finally close enough, Serena clapped her hands slowly. Yuto stood to pull out a chair for the object of his affections. Shun just crossed his arms with a proud smirk on his face.

Ruri took the offered seat, brushing off her shirt to rid it of some imaginary dirt before nonchalantly playing with the red scarf around her arm.

"…You're scarier than Shun, you know that right?" Yuto was the first to break the wordless silence once he had settled back in place. He still seemed to be in shock from before.

"Yeah," Serena finally got out. Her mouth refused to work any further.

Shun, for his part, merely bristled with pride.

Then Serena gathered her wits and leaned towards her counterpart and her counterpart's boyfriend with a trademark smirk that would make Sora jealous. "So, finally kissed, did you?"

And that was when Ruri realised what she had done.

Shun's eyes had suddenly gotten sharper, although at what exactly Serena did not know. Both Xyz duelers across from her had turned red once more, Yuto sinking into his seat yet again with a wild glance at his best friend (and girlfriend's brother) while Serena's lookalike burying her face in her hands.

"I'm sorry, Yuto," Ruri managed to squeak out. "I should have asked."

"It's fine," Yuto replied, his own deep voice also strangely squeaky.

Ruri turned her pleading eyes across the table. "No one else saw, did they?"

They all looked to where the others were still caught up in themselves and each other, only a certain Fusion user turning to meet their eyes briefly before quickly turning back.

Shun smiled reassuringly. "I don't think so, little sister." It was true enough. None of them could be entirely certain Yuri had seen.

" _Please_ don't tell them."

A mother bird's sudden overbearing presence at her side, Serena felt inclined to adhere to her purple haired counterpart's wishes. "Don't worry, your secret will be safe with me," she said sincerely. Then she grinned again. "So, are you two going to give it a proper go now?"

If anything, the two lovers turned redder. Yet, strangely enough, not as brilliantly red as Shun. Sora would kill to get his hands on that tidbit of information.

"I think there's been enough kissing for a lifetime," he choked out.

"Shun…" Ruri didn't press further when her brother raised his eyebrows at her. Instead, she sighed. "We still have to order what we want. Have you, brother?"

"Not yet."

The four quickly buried themselves in the table's menus, fleeing the awkward (and yet very much unawkward) moment from before.

"You ruin all my fun," Serena whispered as she leaned closer to Shun.

"Stop encouraging them," the seventeen-year-old muttered back. "They're far too young to-"

"What? Kiss?"

"Yes!" Shun hissed.

"Oh, come on, they've got to do it sometime," Serena smirked. "And someone's got to push them. Unless you want Yuto's first _real_ kiss to be from that girl who-"

"No!" Shun took a breath and smiled reassuringly at his two chicks over his menu. He continued once more in a whisper. "And _I'll_ do the pushing."

Serena pouted. "You're no fun."

"Good."

"What are you talking about?" Ruri asked.

"Nothing." Shun set his menu aside, ignoring his best friend's smirk (and how quickly that smirk would disappear if the grey eyed boy actually knew what they had been talking about). "Ready to order?"

"I'm not," Serena broke in.

"I don't care."

Serena huffed.

The tall limbed Kurosaki climbed over the girl, his eyes conversing with his best friend's. Yuto stood, nodding to Ruri as he collected her order and then to Serena, ever the gentlemen and knight in shining armour ready to help a damsel whether they were in distress or not. The Kurosaki siblings, meanwhile, seemed to be having a silent conversation with each other. It ended with Ruri rolling her eyes and sending Yuto a sympathetic smile. As the two boys moved off, Shun appeared to lean in towards his shorter friend. The glint in his yellow eyes gave no illusions as to what it was that would be said.

"You know," Serena said, turning back to her counterpart. "Your brother might be jealous enough for the lot of you. Hope you don't mind being in a three-person relationship."

"Stop picking on him. You know it's not true." Ruri grinned all the same. "He's just-"

"Overprotective?"

Ruri's grin widened. "That's one way to put it."

Laughing, the two girls leaned back in their respective seats, conversation turning to thoughts on cakes and coffee and whether Rin would remove Yugo from the headlock she had him in any time soon. The answer to that last one, Serena thought, would be never even if she had to do some pushing of her own.

* * *

 **This was a prompt from ThePsychoPath966: the bracelet girls getting jealous of other girls flirting with the Yu boys in a café or something. I wanted to complete the challenge, so adjusted it to the relationships I've got going on here. It was harder than I thought – way too many characters to focus on and that's without adding in the four (brief) OCs! Plus I wasn't sure how to handle Rin and Yuzu after awhile (though Yuri makes a great scapegoat as a certified bastard who loves conflict). Obviously they would resolve it, but we don't see that here. My execution may have suffered a bit and some parts are probably choppy… Still, I hope it's at least somewhat decent.**

 **The next chapter I think will focus on Serena when I get around to writing it.**

 **Please leave a review. I love hearing your thoughts on this series.**


End file.
